It's all about time
by djinni14
Summary: It seems that there is lots and lots of time. There was just one problem with having time. It was always the same time, and there were always zombies involved with this time. TIME! TIME! TIME! This is the continuation of the Timing is Everything story. Read it first! - COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**CH1 (April)**

"Beckett, my office." Roy calls out from his doorway.

Kate gets up from her desk and looks at the guys for a clue to what Roy wanted her for and quickly went over the open cases in her mind. They were still working all of them, they even had two white boards up.

Their closure rate hadn't dropped in a long time, certainly not since Kate took over. In fact the 12th had the highest closure rate in the city, it was something Kate was proud of. Roy's confidence in her wasn't something she took lightly.

"Sir?" Kate steps into his office.

"Close the door Beckett." Roy tells her from his seat behind his desk.

Kate was confused, this had happened already once. Hadn't it? Kate even knew what Roy was going to say next.

"Sit down Beckett." Kate was sure what he was going to say next.

"I'm retiring Beckett, effective in two months. I want you to think about taking the captain's test and applying for my position. You've proven yourself over the years and I've taught you everything I know. You're the best detective this city has ever seen." Roy tells her, still sounding tired to her ears.

"You've been in overall command of the homicide floor as a lieutenant for over a year now. You'll have to learn about robbery, gangs and everything else that goes with running a precinct and I'll be here for the next two months helping you."

"I accept sir, so long as you'll help me." Kate pushed what Roy was going to say along a little faster.

Roy tried blinking back his surprise; he didn't expect Kate to agree so easily and quickly.

"1PP is already aware of my intention to retire. I've heard rumors that a Victoria Gates is my likely replacement if you decide not to take the test." Roy tried to apply a little pressure.

"Cast Iron Gates from Internal Affairs? …. She hates cops sir. She would turn this precinct into hell. There would be massive transfer requests. We'd go from the best precinct to the worst. This place would be filled with people that didn't want to even come into work, let alone do their jobs to the best of their abilities." Kate felt like she had said all that before, but when?

"I'll do it sir, when do we start." Kate already knew she was going to do this.

Kate steps out of Roy's office and heads for her desk. "I'm going for coffee." Kate informs Ryan and Espo, and grabs her weapon, shield, cuffs and her jacket since it was still cool outside.

Kate was walking for the coffee shop when she suddenly knew who was just about to step out of the coffee shop and it got her to start running and opened the door just in time for Richard Castle to reach for the door. "Hi!" Kate tells him.

"Hi." Richard answers back, thinking that he had seen her somewhere before, just couldn't place it.

"I'm Kate Beckett." Kate tells him.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Richard Castle. … Have we met somewhere before?" Rick shook his head. "I know what that sounds like. Some cheap come on ploy, but I swear, you look familiar somehow." Rick was confused.

"Well I did go to one of your book signings once. … Ok twice, the first one was years ago that my mother dragged me out to." Kate knew that was the truth, just that, that wasn't what she was thinking about. Kate could swear she had just seen him yesterday, and there was something that she just couldn't quite get grasp.

"That must be it." Even if somehow Rick knew that wasn't it. It was like he had just seen her yesterday, and there was something about her, something special. "I'm sorry but I really need to get going. I have several appointments that I need to attend and other things that I need to finish.

But it was really nice meeting you Kate Beckett." Rick started to walk away but stopped and turned back around and opened his mouth and then closed it. "Hold this for me?" Rick handed over his cup of coffee to Kate.

Rick pulled out a scrap of paper and wrote down his cell phone number. "Here's my cell phone number. Call me when you have some free time, we can talk over coffee perhaps." Rick asks and exchanges his number with his coffee.

"Thanks, I'd like that." Kate really did want to spend time with him. There was something calming and quiet about him. It made her feel warm in a way that she hadn't felt in years.

"I, … I have to go. Let me know if you want that coffee." And Rick took off since he was late now.

Kate had her coffee and was back in the precinct with the guys stealing glances at her. Kate knew it was likely because of what Roy had called her into his office to talk to her about. It's just that if he wanted everyone to know that he was retiring he would have told them. So it was up to Kate to keep her mouth shut.

"Where are we on the girlfriend?" Kate asks, hoping to get their minds off of her conversation with Roy. Even if her mind was lost on seeing Richard Castle and getting to talk to him.

Rick stepped into his bank that he had been using for years now, however today it was time to say goodbye to this bank. Rick was asked to wait till someone could help him.

"May I help you?" A lady walked up and asked him.

"Yes, I need to close my account and make a wire transfer." Rick explains.

"I see, if you'll follow me please." And takes Rick into her office.

"I'll need your account number and your ID." She tells him and Rick hands over both of them.

She sees the remaining balance and is now suddenly concerned as to why he is closing his account. While losing this amount of money wasn't going to hurt the bank, it was still going to be noticed.

"May I ask why you want to close your account Mr. Castle?" She asks wondering if there was something she could do to change his mind.

"I'm relocating and I need a more local bank to work with." Rick tries explaining since he had no interest in explaining what he was doing. It was just that Rick thought he had already done this before, except that the lady went through all the forms with him, just like last time. Just he had never had used this new bank before.

Rick was stepping out of his taxi after paying the driver and looked up at the building his lawyer was in when his phone rang. Rick took a look at who was calling and frowned when he saw the caller ID.

"I've already told Gina NO once already and not interested in the new book she wants me to write. … Screw Gina." Rick talks to himself and declines to accept the call and walks into his lawyers building.

Rick steps into the building and takes the elevator up to his lawyer's office. "Hi Vicki, I think I'm running just a bit late today." He had stopped to talk to a beautiful woman who he was sure he had met somewhere and given her his number.

"You can go right in Mr. Castle, he's expecting you." Vicki tells him.

"Henry, how are you?" Rick offers his hand.

"Doing fine Rick, I have all your paperwork here waiting for you." Henry offers a chair to Rick.

"You're sure this is what you want to do?" Henry knew what Rick had asked of him, and thought this just wasn't like the Rick he knew, or thought he knew.

"I'm positive Henry; it feels like my life is supposed to do this. It's the right thing to do." Rick was sure. Somehow he just knew something was going to happen, just not what.

They went over all of the paperwork and Rick actually moved additional money into Alexis's college fund. $1 million more couldn't hurt and he was willing to take the risk that he didn't need it. Besides he wanted to do all he could for his little girl, who wasn't so little anymore.

"Bye Vicki, take good care of yourself." Rick mentions in passing on his way out the door.

It caught Vicki by surprise, Mr. Castle had never sounded like this in the past. "Thanks Mr. Castle." Vicki got out before the door closed.

Rick unlocks the front door and closes it and re-locks it behind him. Rick finds Alexis in the kitchen getting something to drink out of the refrigerator. "How did everything go dad?" Alexis was curious.

"Everything went off without a hitch. Everything is sold and everything has been purchased. We are now proud owners of the next phase in our lives.

Not to worry, I made sure that your trust fund for college is still intact, as is my mother's" Rick beat her to the punch.

"That's not what I meant dad. … I'm just glad that you are happy. You sure you won't miss writing?" Alexis knew that what her dad had planned was going to keep him busy, and even if he did want to write, he might not find the time to.

"Everything will be fine. … You'll see." As Rick kisses the side of her head. "Interested in lunch?" Rick changes topics.

"That would be nice. I'm going over to see Paige later today. You're sure she can come out for a visit?" Alexis didn't want to lose complete touch with her friends.

"Of course she and your friends are welcome; you can even fly them out if we don't have anyone to fly out as part of their reservations." Rick assures her and starts pulling things out of the refrigerator.

"Fly out." Rick talks to himself. "We fly with someone, but whom?" Rick could see that there was someone, it's just that he couldn't picture who it was. Maybe it was Paige and Rick was happy to have his daughter's friend come with them.

"I never knew there was this much paperwork." Paperwork and Kate just didn't get along, and here she was trying to get a job that had still more of the damned stuff.

In-between Roy teaching her how to run a precinct he was helping her with her upcoming captain's exam.

Kate didn't even wait for Lanie to call her and just stood up and went downstairs since she knew Lanie had something on the Peterson case and she was right.

"How goes all the testing girlfriend?" Lanie wanted to hear it from Kate.

"Captain Montgomery is going over everything he knows; he's even helping me with my captain's exam." Kate offers some information.

"Is it really what you want to do Kate?" Lanie needed to hear it, since she knew Kate liked being a homicide detective.

"If I don't take the job, we'll end up with Cast Iron Bottom. I've heard rumors that half the precinct has already filled out transfer requests. If I don't make captain and apply for the job, she'll ruin this precinct Lanie." Kate offers up her reasoning for trying.

"Is that your only reason?" Lanie wanted to know if Kate had actually thought this through?

"Do I need another?" Kate counters.

"So you're willing to make yourself miserable being captain of a precinct, just to prevent Gates from being made captain?" Lanie was thinking she now needed to talk Kate out of this.

"I'll be fine Lanie. Captain Montgomery has told me that I can run the precinct my way and if I want to, be more involved in homicide cases than he is, I can. … I'll be fine." Kate was trying to convince herself as much as Lanie.

"Just make sure you're doing it because you want it, not because everyone else in this building wants you to. Making yourself suffer for the sake of others is admirable, but what about you?" Lanie knew Kate was driven. She was also worried that her friend wasn't having any fun.

"And how will you find time to go out on dates if you take on even more work." Lanie was also worried about her social life.

"Life isn't all sex Lanie." Kate knew where Lanie was going. SEX, Kate felt like she had just had sex yesterday, just couldn't seem to put a face or name to the feeling. Which was stupid since she knew she hadn't had sex in months, though it was actually over a year now, it not close to two years.

Come morning almost a week later, Alexis came downstairs still dressed in her PJ's and didn't find her father in the kitchen. Instead he was sitting in the living room watching TV, again.

"What are you watching dad?" Alexis had seen him doing this a lot yesterday.

"Something weird is going on." Rick responds also dressed in his sleep clothes.

So Alexis sat down next to her dad and watched TV with him and was soon finding herself immersed in what the broadcaster was talking about. "Twelve countries that have a sudden outbreak of rabies? Who ever heard of such a thing? One local area near some small town in the mountains maybe, but 12 whole countries?" Rick questions.

"Think they're lying dad? … It's a news broadcast; if it was really that bad wouldn't we be hearing something from the CDC or WHO?" Alexis counters.

Rick didn't know what to say, he just didn't like the sound of it. "We still have work to do dad. You need to go talk to that advertising company followed by going to one of the travel agencies on our list." Alexis pats her dad and gets up to go back upstairs to take a shower. "And something for breakfast dad." Alexis offers a hint calling over her shoulder.

Alexis however stops at the first step. "Dad, do you feel like we've talked about this before?" This all felt really familiar to Alexis.

"I've had that feeling for like the last two weeks. I thought it was just the pressure of what I was doing. I mean if this doesn't work, it will ruin me financially." Rick points out knowing that his plan had risks.

"And the news broadcasts dad, there is something about them that I just can't place." Alexis felt it was important.

"It's likely just that zombie movie we watched the other day, you know the one with Brad Pitt." Rick offers, since he felt it too.

"Yeah, maybe." Alexis wasn't convinced but went upstairs anyway.

**It is now one week later:**

Both Alexis and Rick were making good progress on their list of people they wanted to see and Alexis thought they were making an impact on all of them, after listening to her father. Not that Alexis was keeping her father out of the loop. Alexis was telling him what she thought of the reaction she was getting.

Rick however had a secret that he was keeping from Alexis because he knew that if he told her, his daughter would go ballistic on him. So he was hiding all of his recent purchases in the storage area down in the garage for now. He would move them to the car when they finally left the city.

"Except Alexis finds out about the guns." Rick talks to himself. "Just why can't I remember how she will. And getting them is actually a good thing. I need another one. Time to make a phone call." Rick tells himself and pulls out his phone.

Alexis was up in the middle of the night and was walking downstairs to get a drink of water when she noticed that the TV was on. Alexis abandoned her glass of water and went over to the sofa and found her father sound asleep while still sitting up with the remote still in his hand.

He was on the CNN news channel and they had a running news band at the bottom of the TV, telling everyone that the CDC and members of the WHO were now researching the reported outbreak of rabies that had suddenly expanded past the 12 countries and involved still more.

It was enough to get Alexis to sit down and listen to the broadcasters talk about it. Alexis was forced to really listen because Rick had the volume turned down low, probably in an attempt to not wake up her or her grandmother.

It seems the first case was located in South Korea and had quickly spread from there. It was in China, Japan, Russia, Vietnam, Cambodia and several countries as it worked its way west towards Europe.

There were also reported cases in the Philippines and there were reported new cases in South America somehow. Speculation was that it was traveling via airplanes to other countries and spreading fast.

While Alexis was watching the banner across the bottom of the screen it changed to saying that the United States was stopping all international flights from entering the country. The United States was closing its borders.

"It's going to turn serious, like deadly serious, just why can't I remember when or why?" Alexis felt it without really knowing about it.

Lanie hoped out of the booth seeing Kate headed their way and hugged her tight. "How did it go girl?" Lanie was dying to hear what Kate thought.

"I won't get my official results for another 48 hours but I think it went pretty good. Captain Montgomery was a big help, I might not have passed without him." Kate was sure Roy had a lot to do with her passing. In fact Kate knew she was going to pass, just didn't understand how she knew.

"Don't sell yourself short girl, you're good and we all know it." Lanie still wasn't sure about this, but if Kate wanted it she was going to help all she could.

"She's right chica, you're good. You're lead detective for a reason, you'll make a great captain. You've already got half the precinct behind you and you aren't even captain yet." Espo points out.

"They're both right Beckett. You know that if Gates makes captain the 12th will be a ghost town and she'll fill the good people that leave with people like Slaughter and the 12th will be a laughing stock instead of the best precinct in the city.

You are going to be great, and you're not in this alone." Ryan points out.

"Anyone been watching the news?" Lanie brings up getting Kate and Espo to shake their heads, while Ryan was nodding his.

"Jenny is working herself into a meltdown and I can't get her to turn the TV off. She wouldn't go to bed at night if I didn't turn it off and take the remote away from her." Ryan moans.

"You really need to get her away from that TV, stress isn't good for her or the baby." Lanie warns him.

"So what is the TV saying that has Jenny so worked up? Espo asks, being concerned for his partner.

"Something about a massive rabies outbreak that started in South Korea and is spreading fast, and the US has closed its borders. No international flights, no ship traffic." Ryan explains.

"Mexico, Canada?" Kate asks. Kate frowns since she had heard all this before she was sure. Were the others thinking what she was? If not, why just her?

"Haven't heard anything about them, likely they will be next, Mexico at least. Little harder to close the border with Canada." Ryan answers.

"Not like they have the border with Mexico closed now or ever will." Lanie points out.

"We'll be fine guys, that's what we have the CDC for, stop things like this." Kate counters. And yet Kate suddenly knows everything isn't going to be fine. She can feel it, just that she shakes her head dismissing it.

"And you trust all those millionaire politicians who say they aren't involved with inside trading, or pass laws that affect the rest of us, just not them. Or give themselves huge raises when the rest of us are losing jobs by the millions, or change maps of who votes where to the benefit of one side and the detriment of the other?" Ryan counters.

"They're all corrupt Kate; the only question that needs to be answered is just how corrupt this one is compared to the other. We're not voting for who's best anymore, we're voting for who's not the worst." Lanie offers.

"They each spend millions telling us just how bad the other guy is, nothing about how good they are since they know that they are just as corrupt, only that the other guy is worse than them." Ryan piles on.

Kate knew they were both right, it's just that unless there was another revolution the size of the one with the British all those years ago, nothing was going to change. Even if you voted in a non-corrupt official, how long would he last? The others would swallow him up like Jonah and his whale.

The system was corrupt and Kate knew it, just that she only had control of what was around her, and if she was captain of a precinct, she had control over that.

The conversation quickly turned to less confrontational problems and more about local things. How Jenny was doing in her pregnancy, Espo's lack of a social life, Kate's lack of a social life, getting Kate to glare at Lanie. "Well it's the truth girlfriend." Lanie defends herself.

Ryan and Espo were the first to leave, leaving Kate and Lanie behind. "So girl tell me you are happy, I need to hear it."

"Lanie!" Kate moans, Kate thought Lanie knew she wasn't going to ever be Lanie's kind of happy.

"Your mother was murdered, blah, blah, blah. Are you trying to make yourself suffer even more because she's gone?" Lanie tries a different track using the same old cars.

"Of course not Lanie, it's just that it's not that easy for me. … And I am happy." Kate puts up a weak meaningless smile to prove she was happy.

"And that fake smile isn't fooling anyone girl. When was the last time you actually smiled because something went incredibly well? When did you last bust a gut laughing over something, and when was the last time you went out on a date?" Lanie questions Kate and doesn't give Kate a moment to respond.

"And if you say Will Sorenson I am so going to smack you." Lanie glared at Kate which actually did have Kate cowering even after all the times she had seen it.

It didn't help any when she knew Lanie was right. "It's late and I need to get up early and spend the day with Captain Montgomery to learn more about being captain of a precinct." Kate drinks down her drink and works at starting to get up only to find that the alcohol had affected her a little more than she thought it was.

Plus Kate could feel that she was going to be happy, just not why she was going to be happy.


	2. Chapter 2

**CH2**

**It is now two days later: (May)**

The last two days had been a whirlwind for Kate and even everyone at the 12th. Kate had passed her captains exam. She had gone through the ceremony of accepting her captain's bars. Roy Montgomery had actually taken his off and placed them on Kate who was dressed in her dress blues.

Everyone that could from the 12th had attended and like an Army/Navy football game or a high school graduation, hats went flying into the air and everyone was screaming and yelling.

Kate next found herself in her father's arms wiping away her tears. "I'm proud of you honey. … Your mother would be proud of you too." Jim tells Kate.

"Thanks dad. … I love you." Kate hugged her father; even after all they had been through together and separate from each other.

"I love you too honey. You're going to make a great precinct captain." Jim knew why Kate was doing this, even if she wasn't captain of a precinct yet.

It was hours later and after all of the celebrations. The guys were out in the bull pen working on one of their many cases. Lanie was downstairs after hugging and crying all over Kate after going over the latest body that was a simple GSW to the chest that uniforms had just found their lead suspect hiding out in his parent's home.

Kate was in Roy's office going over a recent robbery report followed by a report on the recent gang activity when there was a knock on Roy's office door.

They guys and everyone else in the precinct had seen these two enter the building and were whispering their thoughts about why there were here.

Everyone on the 4th floor had stopped working as they all watched these two walk for Roy's office. Epso took a pen being thrown in his chest from Ryan who gestured to the two men that Espo had his back to.

Ryan and Espo, like everyone else that could see this had stopped breathing. "Roy got a moment." Bob Wheldon asked him.

"I'll be right outside." Kate offered and got up to step past them.

"Stay captain, we're here for you too." Bob tells her.

"I think you know we're going to miss you Roy, you've done a lot of good work over the years. I know your official last day isn't for another 10 days, however word of what you have been doing the last few weeks as made it out of this precinct." Bob tells him.

"Thank you sir, I've done my best. I've had a good team here to work with." Roy was proud of what the 12th had accomplished.

The Commissioner steps up next and hands over a large vanilla envelope to Kate. "Captain Katherine Houghton Beckett, this is our official offer for you to take over as Captain of the 12th precinct in four days time. In the intervening time you and Montgomery will be co-captains of the 12th precinct until Roy's official last day here takes place.

You'll find our official offer along with all the other paperwork, base pay, medical coverage's, 401K options and the various pieces of paperwork that require your signature." The commissioner completes his small speech.

"Also after you accept and send in your signed paperwork, you will be spending the next 4 days at a seminar that we are sending a few captains to, with pay of course. You will be driving yourself there and your hotel stay is already taken care of. You will find all of that in there too." The commissioner adds.

Kate quickly closes her mouth, she may have made captain but there was no guarantee that she would be make captain of the 12th. Cast Iron Bottom Sound Gates had more seniority over her.

"I know this is a lot to think about Captain Beckett, think it over and send in the paperwork only if you really want this.

To be honest my IN BOX in my office has been overflowing the last few days with letters from officers in this precinct rating your skills to take this job as being rather high. … There were also a number of letters that also indicated that they would be applying for a transfer if we didn't offer you the job." Bob admits.

"You already have a lot of support in this precinct captain; it was one of the things that we considered in who to offer the position to. Along with the support of the 12th 's present captain." The commissioner adds.

Kate has the envelope in her hands and is still stunned. "Thank you sir, you'll have my answer before the end of the day." Kate tells them.

"Just so long as it is a yes Captain." Bob shakes Kate's hand as does the commissioner.

"Your official date is not for another 10 days Roy, we've already got a big going away ceremony planned along with some parting gifts down at 1PP. Yourself and the 12th's new captain will be expected to attend, naturally." Bob shakes Roy's hand as does the commissioner.

"You will be missed Roy, but I think your replacement leaves the 12th in good hands." The commissioner tells him.

"Thank you sir, I'll make sure we're all there." Roy responds.

"And don't forget to bring that lovely wife of yours and the kids." Bob adds before the two of them leave his office and head back to 1PP to continue the planning for what comes next.

"You'll do great Beckett, you're the best I've ever seen." Roy tells her after they were gone. "Now get out of my office, and take those two with you. I think a celebration is in order." Roy tells her. "And Beckett, congratulations, I'm sure you'll have a long and successful career as Captain. At least until you decide you want to replace someone a little higher up." Roy smiles at Kate.

"Yes sir, thank you sir." And Kate heads out of his office. And the entire encounter seemed to go off word for word, as if Kate had expected to hear exactly what she did in fact hear.

"This is impossible, stuff like this doesn't happen." Kate was confused, it didn't make sense.

Kate and the guys were standing at the elevator waiting when the 4th floor erupted into applause. It got Kate to start blushing and hide her head. Kate did however offer a little wave after stepping into the elevator before the doors closed.

It was a little more subdued down in the basement, at least until someone screamed. "KATHERINE BECKETT!" And Lanie slammed into Kate and gave her the Lanie bear hug of the century.

"Lanie, … can't breathe." Kate manages to whisper out.

"I'm so happy for you girl, please tell me your excited." Lanie just wanted Kate to be happy.

"To be honest, I'm not sure just what I am just yet. Maybe it'll hit me tonight when I read all the paperwork that came with the offer." Kate tells her. "Right now Montgomery has given us the rest of the day off, so we're headed for lunch. You're invited of course." Kate tells her.

"Let's go." Lanie dumps all her stuff and grabs her purse and has a hold of Kate's arm as they make their way up to the first floor, where all hell breaks loose.

"So tell me about this deal they offered." Lanie asks now that they were down to just sucking their milkshakes through a straw.

Kate pulled out her envelope and started pulling papers out. "Oooo, can't show you that one." Kate places it face down and covers it up and keeps a hand on it, even though she had taken a peek at it. $101,742 annually. "They want me to go to some seminar for four days starting tomorrow." Kate hands over the paperwork for that.

Kate finds her 401K paperwork, medical coverage; minimum hours expected and job description.

"They want you to go to Jersey for this seminar." Espo points out, since he loathes all things Jersey.

"JERSEY!?" Kate snatches the papers out of his hand and starts looking at them. "Three night stay at Crowne Plaza Fairfield, 690 Route 46 East, Fairfield, NJ 07004. … What the hell am I doing over there?" Kate couldn't believe it.

What the hell was near there anyway that could handle a seminar, and why in the hell is it in Jersey?

"It's a hotel; don't all hotels have banquet facilities?" Lanie offers taking the papers from Kate to read them herself.

"Couldn't they do it closer to home, so that I didn't need a hotel?" Kate questions. Now she needed to pack at least 3 days of clothes if not 4. This was beginning to suck and she hadn't even been on the job one day yet.

"There is something at this hotel, something I can't afford to miss." Kate whispers to herself, just not loud enough for the others to hear her.

"Have you loaded the car dad?" Alexis asks.

"All there is is our suitcase's that will get loaded in the morning and what is in the storage area in the garage." Rick tells her as he pulls out the last of almost everything so he can make dinner. The last dinner in the loft.

"I'll do it." Alexis offered and headed for the front door.

"Thanks, dinner will be ready soon so don't take too long." Rick called after her.

Alexis was out the door already when what Alexis had said registered in his brain. "ALEXIS WAIT!" Rick ran for the door but she was already in the elevator on her way down to the garage. "She's going to kill me." Rick knew he was in big trouble when she got back. So he started thinking up what he was going to say when she got back.

Alexis had the bob for the car and opened it and went over to the storage unit and unlocked it. Inside Alexis found two long hard sided pieces of luggage and five good sized duffel bags.

Alexis started with one of the long cases which had a little weight to it but nothing she couldn't handle. It did cause her to put one of the back seats down to gain the length she needed. After putting that one in the car she went back for the other case.

After that came the first duffel bag, which weighed a lot more then she gave it credit. Getting it into the back of the car was a bigger challenge since she three more bags to put into it.

The second and third weighed just as much as did the fourth. Now Alexis was curious, just what was her dad planning on taking with them? The weight didn't concern her; they could handle this and six people.

Alexis zipped it open and pulled it open and found a smaller hard sided case inside along with several small boxes.

All of the boxes were the same color and size and there were a lot of them.

Remington Golden Saber, .45 ACP Smith &amp; Wesson.

Alexis had a clue as to what this was but she opened it just the same. "Bullets!" Alexis whispered to herself. "What the hell are you doing dad!?" This got Alexis to open the small hard case bag that was in the duffel bag. It held a semi-automatic weapon that had the word SIG on the side of it.

"Weapons and bullets." Alexis whispered out and looked up at the roof, wondering who was in their now old home and what he had done with her dad?

Alexis put it all back into the car and locked it up and left the storage unit open since it was empty now and went back upstairs to find out who was actually up there and were her real dad was.

Alexis was sitting at the breakfast bar eating what Rick had cooked, if it really was Rick and was giving him the silent treatment.

Rick ate his dinner in silence. Alexis had come back and not yelled at him, in fact she hadn't said a word since she got back, and it was slowly eating at him.

Rick put his fork down, since he had reached his breaking point. "Alexis I can explain." Rick offered only to watch Alexis ignore him and just keep eating.

"I know you don't like that I'm watching the news too much and probably think I've finally lost my mind. … However Alexis, do you really buy into this many countries having a rabid rabies epidemics. The US has closed their borders; all international travel has been suspended. Even Europe has started closing their borders. Just this afternoon they called up the National Guard in the area along the border with Mexico and deployed all their big weapons to close the border completely. Tell me this is all because of a rabies outbreak." Rick tries to plead his case and challenges Alexis to contradict him.

"You can keep the weapons dad, we might need them." Alexis couldn't counter what was on the news, it even had her sucked into watching it a little. Plus somehow Alexis knew they were going to need them, just not why.

"And what do you think comes next pumpkin with the borders all closed and no flights. They have reporters out at the airports and all flights have practically ended because no one is flying. Amtrak is running almost empty, only those people with bigger commutes are traveling at all." Rick was amazed that Alexis seemed to be taking this so well.

"We need to leave tonight dad, just don't ask me why, but we do." Alexis tells him.

That got Rick to look at Alexis funny. "I've already made reservations at a hotel almost next door to the airport. It should be an easy drive in the morning." Rick tells her, feeling that he has stayed at this hotel before, but just can't remember when.

They have the car loaded with their two bags and the weapons and ammunition that Alexis had already loaded when Rick started reaching the bridge between Manhattan and Jersey. The traffic was moving, but really slowly.

When they got close enough they found that the bridge looked like a military encampment.

There were two M1/A1 Abrams main battle tanks along with 2 Bradley fighting vehicles. There was also a few Humvee's, most of which had a heavy machine gun mounted on them and they were all manned. In addition there were sandbags all along the edge of the river on each side.

As Rick approached there were several soldiers that were all heavily armed and they waved him through along with all the others. "I take it back dad." Alexis tells him about him buying weapons and leaving tonight instead of in the morning. As Alexis waves at the soldier who was waving them through.

"Did any of that look familiar to you dad?" Alexis asks as they cross the bridge.

"It was nothing Alexis, nothing to worry about." Rick tells her trying to keep Alexis calm, even if all of that looked familiar, something was about to happen, he just couldn't quite remember what it was.

Kate has made up her mind and goes out to her cruiser and throws her bag with 4 days of clothes inside along with some odds and ends that she thought she might need, which included the two signed books written my Richard Castle, even if she had read them countless times.

Kate was out on the road headed for the bridge leading to Jersey when traffic slowed considerably. Kate wasn't in a hurry and using her lights to get them to move was against regulations, so she just inched along like all the others.

When Kate got close she found the bridge entrance manned by the army, complete with tanks and other big vehicles and humvees, with men manning the machine guns that were mounted on them.

"What the hell?" Kate watched all of them and went across the bridge when the soldier waved her through. It gave her a really bad feeling about this, however she continued on anyway as planned.

"I've seen this before, just why can't I remember where or when." Kate talks to herself as she crosses the bridge.

"Is that?" Kate questions herself. "Nah, can't be. Why would he be in this hotel?" Kate shakes her head. She must really be tired if she's seeing Richard Castle and some really young woman with him entering a hotel. "Maybe he hasn't given up his playboy image; just she was really young looking." Kate's opinion of her favorite author just went down several notches. It was quick so she didn't get a good look at the woman, but her hair color was something she wasn't likely to forget.

Kate grabbed her bag and found her room and dropped it on one of the two beds.

It was a seen one, seen them all hotel room, nothing special. At least it had breakfast in the morning.

Rick had been jolted awake and was up and watching the idiots and their cars outside the hotel when he decided to move over to the TV and turned it on.

What he saw had him scrambling for the remote and turned the volume up a lot higher.

"ALEXIS! …. Alexis." Rick tried shaking her again to wake her up.

"What dad?" Alexis groans out still half asleep.

"Get up, up, up, up. You need to see." Rick shakes her even harder till she was up and watching her dad move over to his bed to sit in front of the TV and turn the volume up even higher.

Alexis was watching and listening and her mouth was falling open further and further. "MY GOD DAD!"

"We need to move pumpkin, get dressed and grab your bag, we're leaving. … NOW!" Rick tells her. Neither bother using the bathroom to change clothes in, time was something it looked like they didn't have.

Kate was jolted awake by the sounds of car horns and rolled out of bed to look. Being on the top floor she found herself looking out onto chaos as people were trying to drive everywhere all at the same time. "What the hell?"

Kate moved over to the TV and turned it on and started watching and listening. "OH, MY, GOD!?"

Kate scrambled for her phone and pulled it off the charger cord and scrolled down for Espo's name and was ready to press call. "It's too late; they've already blown the bridges leaving no way back into Manhattan. … Castle!" Kate had already transferred his cell phone number into her phone.

Kate scrolled down her list and didn't hesitate to press call.

"Kate Beckett." Rick answered his phone after seeing the caller ID. "Now is not a good time Kate." Rick didn't want to just brush her off, but his mind was on Alexis and their lives at the moment.

"I'm in the same hotel Castle, can I come with you? … Please?" Kate knew going with them was the right thing to do, just now how she knew that.

"Meet us downstairs, you've got two minutes." Rick tells her and hangs up.

Kate scrolled down her list of contacts again and pressed call while she stuffed her clothes into her bag.

"Find my dad Espo and get him to the precinct. … Please Espo?" Kate needed for him to be safe; he was all she had left. "I know it's too late to get back into Manhattan, but I think I have a safe place to go." Kate tells him. She just had to get to him in time.

"We'll do what we can Beckett, but it's a mess out there." Espo would do it, just wasn't sure if him and Ryan would succeed.

"Just do what you can Espo, he's all I have left. I'll call you again when I can." Kate hangs up and stuffs everything into her bag and runs down the stairs with waiting for an elevator sounding like a really bad idea and out the door for her car.

It was a mad house out here too as Kate ran for her car.

Out here she found Richard Castle and his young woman throwing bags into the back of their car. "Hurry up dad, we need to get there, like now!" Alexis yells at him, sounding scared since she was.

DAD! It was his daughter! Kate was ready to kick herself for jumping to conclusions. "WAIT! …. NYPD." Kate shows her badge. "Can I come with you?" Kate asks since it sounded like they had a plan and she didn't.

"We meet again Kate Beckett, throw your stuff in the car and get in." Rick tells her.

"Wait one." Kate steps over to her car that was parked next to theirs and opens the trunk and pulls out the bag she knew was in there and throws at Castle, and then reaches in and pulls out the shotgun that was in it also.

That and her bag went into the back of his car and Rick slammed it closed with Rick getting behind the wheel and Kate in the only usable back seat.

This felt all too familiar to Kate; she just couldn't place how she knew that, just that she knew she had to stay with these two. They were going to save her life.


	3. Chapter 3

**CH3**

**It is now one month later: (June)**

The entire month had been a whirlwind for Kate. The phone calls with Espo using the planes communication system, the navy F/A-18E, getting a flying lesson from Alexis. How a 16 year old girl knew how to fly a plane was simply amazing.

Kate even helped her land the plane, got introduced to the child side of Richard Castle. They had taken Kate on a tour of the house, and it felt to Kate like she had been here before. Kate had even started telling Alexis what was where even before Alexis told her.

Kate watched Rick drive off in search of their first pig for her very first Luau. And it felt so natural to get up and hula dance with Alexis, it even had Kate smiling wide from all the fun. And the food was fantastic.

Kate had caught herself rubbing her arms remembering how sore they were from going deep sea fishing with Castle. It had Kate smiling wide again; it was her first shark that she had ever caught.

Watching Alexis pull out the bread machines to make more than just bread.

Laughing and playing with these two while it rained and filled their empty cistern under the house.

The weekly phone calls into Espo and her father and Martha to see how things were going. It sounded like Captain Montgomery had everything well in hand. It had Kate wondering if she would have done the same if she was in charge.

**It is now one month later: (July)**

Kate was lounging in the pool right next to Alexis. Kate had barely left Alexis's side since that one night. Kate had on purpose made sure that where Alexis went Kate followed, while not trying to smother her.

Kate didn't know if Castle had noticed or not, however he hadn't said anything and when Kate asked if Alexis had talked to her father about it, all Alexis did was shake her head.

IT! It had broken Kate's heart listening to Alexis's fears about her future or lack thereof. She had spent years in school applying herself to her studies. Doing countless summer projects that would only add to her ability to learn and learn about herself.

College was the next level and Alexis had plans, really big plans. She had three different majors that she was thinking about and she was thinking of pursuing them all. And when college was out she had still more plans.

All of that was up in smoke now. All she had left was her father's new dream and now even it was likely in dust. Who was going to come all the way out here to get away from it all now. Who was alive to come? Was money even worth anything anymore? And if she left her father to chase her dream, was there even going to be a college to go to?

Kate still had a hold of Alexis's hand while floating in the pool. "Alexis honey, do you remember doing this before?" Kate suddenly asks.

It got Alexis to turn to look at Kate. 'Just when did Kate start calling her honey?' Alexis decided that she liked it since she was learning to like Kate a lot. It was as if Kate was the mother she never had.

"I've had this sense of **Déjà vu** before we even came out here. Dad and I went around to all of the major tour companies promoting our site and it just felt like we had already done this before, and yet they had never heard of us. … It was weird." Alexis answers back.

"I could swear that I've been here before. That tour you gave me our first day here, it was like I already knew where everything was, and yet I know I've never even been in this area before." Kate confides in Alexis.

Alexis had to admit that day had been weird; Kate had even started telling Alexis things that she hadn't told Kate yet.

"And you're about to ask if Castle can write a book based on my mother's murder to try and help solve it. Have everything I know get scanned by Espo and sent out here. Hand over my entire life to Castle, which doesn't sound so scary at the moment anymore." Kate tells Alexis and watches as Alexis's mouth falls open.

"And dad is about to sneak up on us to tell us it is time to make a phone call." Alexis tells Kate, getting Kate to nod her head.

"Time to make a phone call." Rick offers, watching Kate let go of Alexis's hand like she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. However she also rolled off of her mattress stood up in the pool and walked for the ladder to get out with Alexis right behind her.

Rick didn't know what was going on and it had Rick very curious, just now sure how to get invited.

Kate was mostly dry and had a towel wrapped around her with Alexis standing next to her and Kate made the phone call. "Hi Espo!" Kate was still glad to hear his voice. It meant her old friends where still out there.

"It's good to hear you Beckett. How is island life?" Espo started out with stupid talk to lighten the mood.

"Hot actually. We've only had that one big rain storm almost a month ago, since then nothing." Kate however was learning to like the sun.

"Just don't go getting a sunburn Beckett." Espo teased.

"How are things there?" Kate wanted an update.

"Still lots of food, we finally found an electrician who could hook up the ranges that we have down in the garage. We have real meals now. People were starting to get restless around here. It really is crowded here Beckett." Espo points out. Not going into detail about where all the people were sleeping.

"We got word that one of the gangs made a run on the hospital that the 54th had turned into their headquarters. The 54th called and we sent 6 cruisers as back up and broke it up. It's been mostly quiet since then. Just minor little things. I think that's what's go Montgomery so antsy." Espo was guessing even if he was actually wrong.

Kate had heard all of this before, she just didn't know how.

"Have Montgomery go back out and round up even more food Espo, all you can find. Oh and more sleeping bags and another home heating oil truck. One isn't enough to last through the winter. And go find all the Sta-bil you can find and pour it into the gasoline tankers, it'll make the gas last longer.

And Espo, tell the 54th to go looking for all the diesel fuel they can find for their giant generator." Kate adds "And Espo go out and find winter clothing while you still can, you're going to need it. And all the Honda generators you can find. And maybe another tanker filled with gas if you can.

Oh and a milk truck of something and fill it with water while you still can.

Did you get all that Espo?" Kate knew it was a lot. It's just that somehow Kate knew they needed those things.

"We got it Beckett." Espo confirms as he watches his partner writing it all down as fast as Beckett came up with it. "You really will make a great Captain, Beckett." Espo wouldn't have thought of these things.

It had Kate smiling; it's just that Kate wasn't sure she could take the credit for it. It just felt like she had done all this before and it was what they needed.

"Have you got the last of the information Espo?" Kate wanted the last of the information.

"Sending it now." As Espo nodded to Tori who was actually doing all the tech work to send all of this.

Alexis was soon printing it out as she brought it up on the laptop, while downloading it onto the laptops hard drive under an encrypted section of the hard drive and then downloaded it all onto a flash drive that was easier to carry around, and hide for later if it came to that.

The rest of the phone call was spent with Kate talking with her father and Alexis talking with Martha.

Kate had everything all stacked up on the dresser in her room. So far Castle hadn't made any attempts at entering her bedroom, leaving Kate to strip off the bed sheets for herself. There were items that Kate had at home and yet here all she had were photos of it all that Espo had taken for her, it was everything Kate could think about that had anything to do with her mother.

"Dad, can we talk to you." Alexis approached her father with Kate right behind her, quaking in her boots, still not sure how Alexis had talked her into this. Kate was a very private person and letting Castle into her life was really something that didn't sit well with her.

"Kate has an open murder case that she has been working on for the last 15 years without success. …. We want you to study all of the information that is in Kate's bedroom." Alexis hands over Rick's laptop to him.

"Write you two a murder mystery based off of what you have in that bedroom?" Rick was actually hooked already, since he felt like he already knew just what he was going to write.

"Yeah, how did you know dad?" Alexis looked at her father, questioning.

"It's like I knew you were going to ask. You want to see if I can write up a scenario that will help explain why your mother was murdered." Rick looks at the two of them and can see the look of shock on their faces.

"I've been having this since of Déjà** vu **that I've had before we even got here. It's hard to explain. I can already see a lot of the book in my mind. … Is this making any sense to either of you?" Rick was starting to worry that he was losing his mind.

"Alexis and I have been doing the same thing for a while now. Something that I can't explain, I even knew that you were going to be in the same hotel that I was in, and that you had a way out.

I even remembered you sideswiping those two cars, ..." Rick interrupts her.

"It was a pothole that I wasn't expecting and it jerked the wheel out of my hand." Rick lied.

Kate simply glared at him and it seemed to work. "And the two fences and knew Alexis had the keys to the plane." Kate continued.

Rick suddenly felt better that he wasn't alone, now knowing that the two women in his life felt the same way.

**It is now 1 month later: (August)**

Kate had gotten tired of pork and shark and was ready for something else during this period of time.

"We can go fishing if you want to try." Alexis offered.

Kate had jumped at the chance. "Anything but shark." Kate prayed.

"Then grab a normal fishing rod or two out of the storage building along with the tackle box and meet me down at Flash." Alexis smiled as she made her way to the front door and start walking for the boats, and can hear the sound of Kate's flip flops as Kate runs for the storage building.

Kate all but jumped in the boat. "I'm driving!" Kate jumped into the driver's seat and held out her hand for the keys, smiling wide, giddy with excitement. GOD she hadn't felt like this since she was a teenager, but this boat was going to be so much fun. Kate was going to put this baby through its paces.

"KATE! … KATE!" Alexis is yelling at her as she holds on for dear life to the seat she is in, ever so happy that she had chosen to wear a life vest. Except that was only going to keep her from drowning and not prevent the massive amount of fractures she was sure she was going to have soon when Kate crashed the boat.

"KATE, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FISHING!" Alexis tries yelling again.

Alexis was in the kitchen skinning the fish they had caught. Ok the fish that ALEXIS had caught, all three of them. "Kate I said I was sorry." Alexis offers while she runs her knife over the fish doing what Kate told her to do.

"You're supposed to skin it not butcher it." Kate moans. "Move over or we'll be eating pork or shark again." Kate hip butts Alexis out of the way and cleans the fish herself.

"I'll go start the grill." Alexis offers and heads for the back patio.

"It was beginners luck, you know that. … Likely never going to happen again. … EVER!" Kate yells at Alexis's retreating form only to get Alexis to turn her head and smile back continuing her trip out to the grill.

"Alexis, wait!" Kate suddenly calls out getting Alexis to stop and watch as Kate comes out of the kitchen and comes over to Alexis and wrap her arms around Alexis and kiss her head.

"I'm sorry honey, I was only teasing. … And yet it feels like I've done this before somehow, even though I know I've never met you before, and yet, ..." Kate knew she was falling for Alexis fast, and also knew that it was going to happen.

"Kate, you've been, I don't know." Alexis didn't know what to say. She'd never had a woman care about her like this before except for her grandmother and even she didn't do what Kate was doing.

"I like you honey, I like you a lot and I couldn't imagine being here without you and your father." Kate had to admit.

Kate and Alexis had loved the fish, it was fresh and a welcome change to their diet.

"How about a board game unless you want to try dad's X-box." Alexis was hoping Kate had never played X-box and she could mop the floor with her.

Kate however having been spending this much time with Alexis could see something, one of her suggestions meant trouble for her, however Kate just didn't know which one. Still she had a 50-50 chance. "Board game." Kate tried to sound convincing.

Alexis went to select a board game cursing silently, how did Kate get so damn lucky? What Alexis doesn't see behind her back is Kate pump her fist. She had selected right and now knew to stay far, far away from the X-box. At least until she got in some practice without these two.

Twilight Struggle Deluxe Edition - This Deluxe Edition of Twilight Struggle seeks to capture the feeling of that earlier era. Twilight Struggle is a two-player game simulating the forty-five year dance of intrigue, prestige, and occasional flares of warfare between the Soviet Union and the United States. Twilight Struggle recreates the conflict between the most powerful nation states the world has ever known. The scope of the game covers the entire world as it was found in 1945. Players move units and exert influence in attempts to gain allies and control for their superpower. Twilight Struggle is a two-player game simulating the forty-five year dance of intrigue, prestige, and occasional flares of warfare between the Soviet Union and the United States.

They were still playing when it was time to start dinner however working together to make dinner was also part of the game. "Stop crowding me commie." Alexis bumps Kate in the hip.

"Plan R." Kate whispers mostly to herself.

"I was just thinking that." Alexis turns to look at Kate. "We have that movie in the cabinet." Alexis offers.

"Game over." Kate offers and watches as Alexis loads the movie. "Sit here honey." Kate pats the sofa next to her, and wraps her arms around her and holds her tight after Alexis sits down.

The movie wasn't done yet and Kate suddenly heard Alexis sniffle. It got Kate to look down at Alexis. "What's wrong honey?" Kate didn't like the sound of Alexis crying, it broke her heart, not that she yet understood why yet.

"I've only ever done this with dad and not since I was little." Alexis used the back of her hand to wipe away some of her tears.

"Your mother or Gina never did this with you?" Kate couldn't understand those two. Alexis was an amazing young woman. Every woman's perfect example of having a loving teenager.

Only to watch Alexis shake her head and sniffle again, getting Kate to hold onto Alexis a little tighter. "I'm sorry Alexis, I don't understand those two, but I swear I'm not like that." Kate kissed the top of Alexis's head.

The Pink Panther movies were next since Kate had mentioned that she loved Peter Sellers.

Kate simply left the A/C units on and got Alexis to lie down on the sofa and found a light cover and let her sleep, after stroking her hear and kissing her head.

Kate stopped at Castle's closed door noticing that his light was on and thought about knocking but thought Castle wouldn't answer. And Alexis had been just walking in without knocking all this time, but Kate didn't feel right about doing that, so she turned around to head for her room, just as Castle's door opened.

"KATE!" Castle was looked glad to see her. "Your mother is amazing Kate." And Castle leaned in and kissed Kate on the cheek and then practically jogged for the living room and Kate could hear a door open and close.

Kate just stood there and watched Rick come rushing back with his hands filled with still more papers. Rick stepped up to Kate and with papers in hand hugged Kate and kissed her cheek again. "Thank you." And Castle disappeared back into his bedroom.

It left Kate standing there stunned. Kate had felt him next to her, since all either of them were wearing was a swimsuit, and where did the kisses come from?

Kate could suddenly see Rick kissing her a lot and she was kissing him back. Kate knew she already loved Alexis and was wishing that Alexis was hers. Her life would so different with Alexis in her life.

"Castle!?" Kate also knew that she couldn't have one without the other, it was just that she didn't love Castle, but could she?

Kate ran across Castle in the morning and just knew what he was going to say somehow.

Castle hands Kate a piece of paper. "My mom's notes with her impossible encryption." Kate confirms. And then Castle hands her a hand written page, one of what looked like hundreds scattered all over his bed.

Kate started reading and was looking between the two. "YOU SOLVED IT!?" Kate stared at him.

"I know a guy." Castle shrugs his shoulders.

"You know a guy?" Kate was now looking between the papers and Castle.

"I followed around a CIA operative once for about a year years ago, and I got to know a lot of people because of it. Naturally everything I wrote had to go through them first. … However one of the guys I met worked on breaking encryptions.

I took pictures and sent them to him using my phone. Thankfully the CIA in Langley is locked up tight and free of infection. I sent him every page of your mother's notes and he sent them back for me to print out." Castle picks up a pile of papers that had all of Johanna's notes all deciphered for Castle to read.

"You, … you, ..." Kate didn't know what to say as she saw all the pages in Castle's hands. How had he, …? Kate could feel the tears starting to flow down her face. She had never been this close to solving the case that was her life.

There was only one thing Kate could think of to do to say thanks. She kissed him softly, quickly and then backed off a little while still looking at Castle and let the tears flow. What she didn't expect was to feel something from that one little kiss. She didn't really know him except from what Alexis had been telling her.

And then something happened, Castle kissed her back. Wrapped his arms around Kate and feeling her own arms go around him as Castle kissed Kate and pressed into the kiss. Using his tongue to ask for entrance and when getting just a slight break in Kate's lips the war of dueling tongues was on.

They only broke from the kiss to get some air, only to have Castle kiss Kate again. Kate was soon moaning into the kiss. No one had really kissed her in a long time, it had even been longer since she had even been with a man. Her job had come first, Kate loved her job.

Kate got out of his arms and backed off. "Castle, …. I need time Castle, please understand."

"Take it slower, I can do that. Just remember, I won't take no for an answer later." Rick warns her.

It had Kate weak in the knees. Did Castle just say that he was going to ask her something? Married to Castle with Alexis for a daughter. Maybe someday hear Alexis call her mom since for some reason she really wanted to hear Alexis call her mom.


	4. Chapter 4

**CH4**

**It is now one month later: (September)**

Kate was just thinking that she had been in the pool floating around on her mattress long enough when she heard Castle humming. At first it didn't mean anything to her, till she had heard it more than a couple of times.

It was the theme song to JAWS! "Don't even think it Castle." Kate warns him not bothering to open her eyes. He wouldn't, … would he?

Castle went silent so Kate relaxed thinking Castle had gotten the message when suddenly Kate was completely wet and sitting on the floor of the pool. Kate came up spitting water. "You're going to die Castle!" Kate yelled at him after getting enough air in her lungs, only to hear Alexis scream and listen to water splashing.

He had gotten Alexis too. Kate had only just registered that thought when her feet suddenly went out from under her, ending up almost on her butt at the bottom of the pool.

Down here she could see Castle under water smiling at her as he worked at staying under water.

Kate planted her feet on the bottom of the pool and pushed off heading for Castle like a torpedo with her hands out in front of her, catching Castle in the stomach forcing all the air out of him, getting him to go to the surface sputtering and spitting water.

It's just that Kate needed air by now too since she had been caught unprepared and ended up surfacing right in front of Castle, face to face.

Kate was just starting to think about splashing water in his face to try and drown him when suddenly Kate found Castle's arms wrapped around her tight. "Castle!" Kate started to complain but was silenced when Castle suddenly kissed her.

Kate initially struggled against his arms, however those lips were making their way past her walls and Kate found herself kissing Castle back with equal passion.

Kate broke from the kiss. "Slow down Castle, … please." Kate was learning to like Rick, just wasn't yet ready for the next step.

"Fine, but I'm not going to stop kissing you." Rick replies.

"And I don't want you to Castle. I just need a little more time. … I'm sorry." Kate was still fighting the playboy image she still had of him, even if she did know it was all Gina's fault and Castle was stupid enough to go along with it.

Kate found herself sitting on the sofa outside taking in some of the sun with Rick sitting next to her while Alexis was floating around in the pool. "Tell me about Meredith and Gina, maybe it'll help." Kate could feel that Rick wasn't a playboy, it's just she was having trouble getting it out of her head.

"Meredith. …. I never could get Meredith to be a mother. She gave birth to her. The second she was placed in my hands, I knew my life had just changed and that I loved her with all of my heart.

Meredith. …. She threatened to get an abortion and kill her before she was even born. I married her because she was pregnant. … I mean that's what you're supposed to do right, marry the woman that you get pregnant?

I had a meeting for one of my books with Black Pawn and they kept me really late, it was pissing me off.

I came home to a crying Alexis. I changed her really dirty diaper and started warming up a bottle and wondered where Meredith was. She was supposed to watching over her, she was a mother.

I found her in our bed riding her director for some part that she wanted. … I threw both of them out and Meredith sent me divorce papers three days later.

Next thing I knew Meredith had almost everything and I had Alexis, clothes and not much else and was flying to New York to start again." Castle explains Meredith.

Kate knew she had her answer about Meredith, that just left Gina and all the bimbos that Castle had gone to bed with.

"Didn't Gina help?" Kate knew he was twice married.

"Gina, … Gina and I made perfect sense on paper. She was my publisher, editor, call it what you want. We were both in the same industry and I hadn't dated or been with anyone since Meredith. I thought she was just what I was looking for. Someone who knew me and be a step-mother to Alexis.

We were out at my beach house in the Hamptons one week. One whole entire week, just us as a family. … Alexis was still little. We were out at the pool that Gina refused to get into. … Didn't want to get her hair wet.

I went inside to gather up the food to put on the grill. Apparently Alexis had taken to diving into the pool to show off to Gina, who simply ignored her. Gina always ignored her, it was one of the things we fought most about.

Seems Alexis would jump and then climb out and run around the pool edge to get where she could dive back in again." Rick pauses, as it plays out in his mind again.

It also had Kate slapping a hand over her mouth, fearing what she knew was coming.

"Alexis slipped, miss jumped, I don't know. All I knew was that Alexis was in the pool screaming in pain while Gina just stood there doing nothing.

Best I could work out, Alexis had slipped and hit her arm against the side of the pool breaking her arm and fell into the water." Rick paused again, since he could still hear his baby screaming in pain while almost drowning in his own pool.

"Gina and I fought over what she had and obviously hadn't done. I drove Alexis to the emergency room and was given a ticket for speeding while I was in the waiting room to find out how Alexis was.

Gina stayed at the house and made no attempt to come with me. … She was my daughter and I should have been watching her. It wasn't Gina's job to watch someone else's child was all Gina would tell me.

It was the beginning of the end for us. A few short months later Gina had my $2 million advance for my next book and I was divorced for the second time.

While Gina and I may have our differences, she was still good at her job and incredibly focused on that part, so I kept her.

It was shortly after that, that Gina came up with the playboy idea to get me into the papers. If my name was being used a lot, people talking about me, it would help sales. … And it seemed to be working.

Next thing I knew I had women hanging all over me." Rick starts laughing, which only was pissing Kate off, not that Rick was watching.

"All these women that wanted to be the next Mrs. Castle, or at the very least get me into their bed. Every man's perfect dream right? … Except all I wanted to do was dump them and forget they even existed and go home to Alexis.

Sit on the sofa watching a Disney marathon. … And after she got older we would have a movie classic marathon, or even old TV shows. … George Burns, Laurel and Hardy, Three Stooges, Marx Brothers.

Then we moved on to comics, Rodney Dangerfield, George Carlin, Bob Hope and that guy that would smash watermelons or other things with his giant mallet." It had Rick smiling, listening in his head to his daughter laughing.

"I even bought her and her friends tickets to the local Jeff Dunham show one time. You know, the guy that's a ventriloquist that plays with dolls." Castle offers.

Kate didn't know who Jeff Dunham was since Kate didn't get out much. Her life was work. She did however know who Rodney and the others were. She was just a little girl sitting in front of the TV on the floor watching Three Stooges episodes on reruns on some channel that she didn't remember.

"Don't get me wrong there was an occasional woman that would gain my interest. It's just as soon as I mentioned that I had to go home to my daughter, they all disappeared. An occasional one night stand might be some men's cup of tea, but that wasn't me. Even if the papers did make up all kinds of stories based on the women Gina had selected for me for all the events that I would attend.

Gina sent me to all of them. Then my little girl grew up and I started taking her to all these events. It pissed Gina off, not that I cared. Having Alexis there was the only thing that made those events fun and worth going to.

And she's still growing up, I don't know how she got to this age. All I see is the little girl that I took and dropped off at elementary school. Now she's smarter than I ever dreamed of being." Rick wiped away a few tears that had escaped. His little girl was past her sweet 16 and growing up fast. Way too fast.

"And it never occurred to you that Gina was making sure that she was going to be your last stable woman in yours or Alexis's life by pairing you up with air head big tit bimbos?" Kate decided to just ask.

It got Rick to turn his head to look at Kate in shock, like something had just slapped him upside his head. Kate watched Rick open and close his mouth like a fish, which told Kate, 'no he hadn't'.

"Are women really that vicious?" Rick finally found his voice.

The question found Kate with a problem. "Some women can be Castle, while others can be so submissive that they'll see being beaten daily as being loved. No two are the same Castle, just like not all men are playboys that will go to bed with any woman who comes their way."

"Is that what you see Beckett? Gina sends me these airheads and you think I took them home with me and took them to my bed?" Kate saw a hurt look on his face, and knew that she had put it there, however before she could say anything.

"I suppose thanks to Gina that's all anyone thinks. I saw all those stories that the paper made up because of all those different women. I simply ignored what the papers said since I knew it wasn't me.

I never suspected Gina of being that cruel or manipulative. … I've been an idiot." Rick tried to melt away into the sofa, seeing that he had screwed up so bad for years. He had allowed Gina to belittle him in the eyes of everyone and listened to her lies.

"You said she was good at what she does Castle, she's just better at things besides publishing your books. …. And Alexis never came home telling you that she defended you from what her friends were saying about you?" Kate didn't mean to make him feel worse.

"OH GOD!" Rick moaned, just what had he done? He would rather cut his arm off before hurting Alexis. "She hasn't said a thing. …. You think she's hiding it by not telling me?" Kate could see the pain on Rick's face of all the scenarios that were now running wild in his mind.

Kate took a hold of Rick. "She's fine Rick, you have raised the most perfect woman on this planet and it's all because of you. … If you want I can ask her later." Kate offered, besides if Alexis was hurting Kate wanted to help her.

"Can you, … please?" Rick really did want to know if his little girl was hurting because of his stupidity.

"I'd be happy to. …. I'm sure she's fine Castle." Kate was sure Alexis was fine, but she would ask.

"Castle why did you kill off Storm?" Kate loved his books and her two signed copies of his books were safely tucked away in her bedroom plus she wanted off of this negative thinking.

"Honestly? … I got bored with him. I mean how many times can you save the United States or the entire planet? And just how many super villains are there in the world anyway?

I knew what he was going to do today, what he was going to do tomorrow. The only things that were going to change were the names. If I kept it up he was just going to be another James Bond, only without all the cool gadgets that he has. And he was never going to find the right girl, ever." Castle tries to explain.

"So you killed him." Kate still didn't like that Storm was dead. The books were entertaining. Kate didn't care if Derek Storm didn't evolve into being something more. The mere fact that Storm didn't change was part of the appeal.

Castle started grinning. "Yeah, and it was messy too. Kind of hard to come back from that, unless he was a zombie. Of course he wouldn't be Derek Storm anymore. … Hhmmm, a zombie Derek Storm who can't die because he's already dead." It had Rick thinking. NO, he liked the idea for this book better. There was more life to it. More depth to the characters. He could do so much with this new character.

"I better start dinner." Rick kissed Kate's cheek and got up and went into the house.

(Maybe he's not a playboy. Maybe it all was Gina's fault and lies that the papers wrote to get sales. He was obviously an amazing father, and all he wanted was to spend time with his daughter.

Just why did he let Gina do that to him? The only women he was ever going to meet with that image were the ones that were only interested in his money or a one night stand.)

It did however leave Kate feeling better about Castle and start liking him just a little more.

The next morning Kate was up early and something was gnawing at the back of her mind and it had her scared. Kate was searching the refrigerator when Alexis came out and told Kate she was going down to the store to transfer a few items and check on the plane.

"ALEXIS STOP!" Kate just knew what was going to happen today, she just knew it and it scared her.

"Wait right there, I'm going with you. … Do not move an inch." Kate points a finger at her and runs up the spiral stairs to get to the roof and comes back down carrying the Tommy Gun.

"What do you need that thing for?" Alexis knew there were two of them. One was on the roof with three of the 100 round drums, while the other one and the other two 100 round drums was out in the storage shed.

The only other weapon not in the house was Kate's shotgun along with the 25 shells that was out in the store.

"Humor me and take your SIG out of the kitchen drawer and take it with you." Kate instructs Alexis and waits for her to do just that.

Kate was walking down the path to the store with a purpose and had her gun up and ready with the safety off. "Take off your safety honey." Kate calls to Alexis behind her.

"Something happens doesn't it?" Alexis answers back as Alexis flicks off the safety.

"I think so yeah, … just stay behind me. They hurt you over my dead body." Kate wasn't losing Alexis, that just wasn't an option.

Kate and Alexis made it to the store and knew just where the boat they got here on was located. Kate knew she couldn't explain how she knew, just that she did.

"Stay here and watch this side." Kate tells her as Kate moves to the other side and watches two guys, each with weapons in hand step outside of one of the staff tents.

"Stop right there guys and drop the weapons." Kate yells at them, only to have both of them raise their weapons at take a couple of pot shots at Kate before running back inside the staff tent.

Kate somehow knew they were rapists and likely killers already and they had no way of holding prisoners so Kate stepped out from behind the store and ran to the other end of the building and started spraying the tent with round after round. Holding her finger down on the trigger.

Kate watched as hole after hole opened up in the tent as Kate could hear the shell casings landing in the sand, which what most of this island was.

Kate felt more than saw Alexis step up next to her and prayed that Alexis had her weapon up and was paying attention.

Kate never took her finger off the trigger until the Thompson stopped firing, meaning Kate had used up all 100 rounds. "Give me the keys." Kate holds out her hand.

"Stay here and keep your eyes open, if it moves, shoot it. Just think of it as another paper target. Be careful honey." And Kate kisses her head and runs for the door to the store and unlocks the hurricane shutter and lifts it up and then unlocks the door and runs inside.

Kate is back standing next to Alexis as she chambers a round into the shotgun, only to whip around and point her weapon. **"CASTLE! **… Don't do that, I almost shot you." Kate tried to get her heart to calm down.

Kate did notice however that Castle had the other Thompson in his hands. "I heard shots, what are you shooting at? … And what happened to my tent?" Rick looked passed both of them to the staff tent that was riddled with holes.

"We have some unwanted and armed guests, who fired first." Kate explains.

"Two guys wasn't it." Somehow Rick just knew. "I grabbed the crossbow first till I remembered we had this baby tucked away in the storage building. This whole thing feels different somehow."

"You two stay behind me and spread out a little, in case they escaped out the backside of the tent unnoticed." Kate tells them.

Inside the tent was a mess. Absolutely everything had at least one hole in it if not several. Including the two guys who each turned out to have 4 rounds in each of them. Kate checked for a pulse. "Their gone." Kate stands back up and lets her shotgun hang from her hand.

"Just the two?" Rick asks, which got Kate to lift up her shotgun again.

"Let's find out. … You two check the tents, TOGETHER. While I check the boat." Kate didn't know why there was a boat, just that there was one.

The tents were empty just like the boat was. Somehow they all knew they would be, but still they had to make sure. Rick picked up the bodies and took them far out to sea and dumped them in the ocean for the sharks.

Kate and Alexis meanwhile moved the boat around to the dock area along with the three boats that were already there.

Kate spent the next three nights sleeping with Alexis to make sure she didn't have any nightmares and if she did Kate wanted to make sure she was there to sooth Alexis and take the nightmares away. Something she wished her mother had been there to do for her. It's just that losing her mother was why she had nightmares.

_**It is now one month later: (October)**_

Castle had decided it was 'Who am I' night and it turned out Castle was pretty good at it.

ROUND ONE:

"All men make mistakes, but married men find out about them sooner. "

"I'm nuts and I know it. But so long as I make 'em laugh, they ain't going to lock me up."

"Congress: Bingo with billions"

"A fellow told me he was going to hang-glider school. He said, 'I've been going for three months.' I said, 'How many successful jumps do you need to make before you graduate?' He said, 'All of them.'"

"Exercise? I get in on the golf course. When I see my friends collapse, I run for the paramedics."

"Talking about the Dalton Girls, and bandits and stuff, you know that one of the biggest crimes now, number one on the plate, is counterfeiting.

One guy sold a bill for forty cents, and the government is mad at him because he got more for his than they're getting for theirs!"

"Is there anyone here from Texas? Yeah?! You can always tell a Texan, … not much, but you can tell 'em."

"Texas, now there's a state to visit if you have never been. You name it, they got it. You name it, they ain't got it, you didn't need it no how!"

"Down there they got miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles."

"Everything down there is big. I seen a flea, … it had 4 dogs on it."

ROUND TWO:

"If pro is the opposite of con, is progress the opposite of congress?"

"Why do they put the little "on/off" words on a light switch? If the light's on, you can see that it's on. If the light's off, it's too dark to see the words on the switch."

"If your knees bent the other way, what would a chair look like?"

"I like church though. Church was a weekly reminder there was something worse than school."

"Remember this advice... Never let your mom comb your hair when she's mad at your dad!"

"What is dumber than a blind person with a gun? The idiot who handed them the gun. Where do you hide from a blind person with a gun? How do you make a noise that ain't like a rabbit?"

"Why do Cowboys wear a spur on each boot? If one side of the horse moves, the other side goes with it."

"I found out why God made babies cute. It's so you don't kill them."

"I wish there was a knob on the TV so you could turn up the intelligence. They got one marked "brightness" but it don't work, does it?"

"Why do they call that funny little statue a bust when it stops right before the part of the body that it's named after?"

"If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?"

ROUND THREE:

"I'm a big boy, but I can get jiggy with it. Ladies, I will go to dance clubs, and I will tear it up hardcore for a good 30 seconds. I got off the plane."

"I was walking and cooking at the same time."

"When you have nothing but big friends, you never get into arguments - except one. And that is, who is the biggest? I'll let you know right now, there's only one way to settle this. We all get in a bus and we go to Disney and we get on a roller coaster - whoever gets the least amount of clicks on the safety bar is the big one."

"The cop gets to the window and says the same thing that they all say, right, "Do you know why I stopped you?" It was too easy. I looked at him and I said, "'Cause you can smell it.""

"I'll walk up to a woman, I'll say the first thing that comes to mind: 'Hey, you hungry?"

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Can you guess who Rick is impersonating? Love to hear your guesses. Take your best shot, and no cheating THIS TIME!


	5. Chapter 5

**CH25**

**It is now one month later: (November)**

Red Skelton

Leo Anthony Gallagher

Gabriel Iglesias

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"How's it coming dad?" Alexis was curious, while Kate was chomping at the bit to read what he was coming up with.

"I'm just about to start chapter 17. I'm thinking there will be 20 or 21 chapters with a little over 300 pages." Castle explains.

"That's great dad!" Alexis was happy her dad was writing again and wanted to make sure he knew it.

"Is there going to be a book after this one?" Please say yes dad, please say yes.

"I'm thinking the two main characters may have lots of books in them. I'm really liking both of them, even better than Derek Storm." Castle was even beaming. "And I have you to thank for it all Beckett." Castle leaned over and gave Kate a longer than necessary kiss to her cheek.

Kate however took Castle's face in her hands and soundly kissed him back with Alexis watching.

After Kate broke from the kiss to get some air. "I'll write you an entire library if you keep doing that." Rick was smiling. It earned Rick a punch to his arm with Kate smiling.

Kate had re-closed her eyes and was floating comfortably when she was suddenly in the water headed for the bottom, butt first. Kate quickly surfaced only to find a massive amount of water being splashed in her face.

Kate had her hands up trying to block the water. "ALEXIS!" Except all Kate could hear and barely see was Alexis laughing at her, when suddenly the water stopped and Kate saw Alexis lunge for the ladder and was up and out of the pool quickly, still laughing.

Kate however was not going to take this lying down and lunged for the ladder herself and was up and out of the pool quickly.

Kate heard Alexis squeal and run for it around the house, with Kate in hot pursuit. Alexis was laughing the entire way, right up until Kate caught up to her.

Kate had already learned from watching Castle that Alexis was ticklish and since Kate had Alexis in her arms Kate let loose with a vicious tickle attack.

There was just one problem with Kate's plan, she was ticklish too. And when Alexis fought back for a second with her own tickle attack and got Kate to back off with a look on her face that said her goose was cooked, Alexis went on the attack.

"ALEXIS!" And Kate was now the one that was on the run with Alexis hot on her heels.

It had Kate stepping onto the ladder and launching herself back into the pool hoping that the pool would be a safe place to hide out.

Alexis stopped at the pool and glared at Kate. "COWARD!"

Kate watched Alexis go back inside. "They're working on my birthday cake." Kate whispered to herself, not really sure how she knew that, but she did.

It was after dinner now and they had eaten BBQ catfish that Kate and Alexis had gone out and caught earlier in the day. Now they were sitting outside on the back patio, except for Rick, and Kate started smiling since she just knew what came next.

Then Castle stepped out with a cake in his hands and he was already singing.

"Today is a birthday, I wonder for whom?  
It must be for somebody right in this room.  
So look all around you for somebody who  
Is smiling and happy, my goodness, it's you!

Happy Birthday Kate, from all of us to you,  
Happy Birthday Kate, from all of us to you.  
We congratulate you, and hope all your sweet dreams come true,  
Happy Birthday Kate, from Richard and Alexis too (boom boom.)"

It had Kate grinning wide having never heard that song before in her life. Leave it to Castle to come up with something weird to sing for her birthday.

"Is this what you two have been up to?" Kate just knew they were up to something. "And how did you know?" Kate had every intention of keeping it to herself.

"Your mother's calendar had a day reminder not to stay late since it was your birthday." Castle explains the how part.

This got Alexis to jump up and run inside and come running back outside and hand a card to Kate. "I made it myself." Alexis whispered, nervously.

Kate opened the handmade piece of paper and noticed Alexis's lovely curvy shape of the words instantly.

"You're not one year older, you're one year wiser, and you affect more people's lives than you think.

And I wish with all my heart that you had been my mother."

It instantly had Kate's hand over her mouth which blocked the sound of her crying, but it did nothing for her tears that started instantly. It also had Kate out of her chair and wrap her arms around Alexis as both of them were now crying.

"I love you too honey, so very much." Kate states out loud. Kate moves her mouth and whispers softly into her ear so that Rick can't hear her. "And you can call me mom when we're alone, because I'd dearly love to have been your mother for you when you were growing up."

That had Alexis crying even harder and she held onto Kate for all she was worth.

Alexis finally let go of Kate and both of them wiped the tears away and still Castle just stood there with a goofy grin on his face. "Would the birthday girl like to cut the cake?" Castle offered Kate the knife laying it on his opposing arm handle out.

Kate took the knife and noticed that Castle was still smiling at her. Did he know what Alexis had put on her card? "We need plates Castle." Kate points out while standing there with a slice of cake on her hands.

"Oooo, be right back." And Castle runs off into the house.

"What about dad?" Alexis asks quickly knowing her dad would be back in seconds.

"I'm getting there honey, I'm getting there." Kate smiled at Alexis because Kate knew it was true. She just needed a little more time.

**It is now one month later: (December)**

Kate found Alexis in the kitchen and had taken to hugging Alexis and kissing her head. "Morning honey, have you thought about what we talked about?" Kate asks her.

"Four years of college in Oxford since England has proven to still be infection free." Alexis reminded herself and Kate. "Go to medical college and become a lead medical examiner for a state somewhere, maybe even New York."

"You told me that your father had placed enough money for a four year degree at a top college into a trust that is waiting for you. Oxford is definitely a top college. … Robert did tell us that Oxford is still open during all of this." Kate points out.

"You get to be captain of an entire precinct and I could be the state medical examiner that goes out to murder sites with you. It does sound pretty cool, and I could stay really close to you." Alexis was warming up fast to this idea.

"Hey does this mean you could be detective Jane Rizzoli to my Maura Isles?" Alexis suddenly lights up. Alexis however sees the blank look on Kate's face. "Don't you watch TV? Rizzoli and Isles!?"

"I love that show!" Castle steps into the living room and over hears Alexis. "Morning you two." And Castle steps into the kitchen to hug his daughter and kiss her head and then switch to Kate and hug Kate and give Kate a quick chaste kiss to her lips, getting Alexis to smile at Kate with a knowing smile.

Kate smiles back at Alexis and turns to Rick and takes his head in her hands and kisses him soundly. "How is the book writing coming Castle?" Kate asks him.

"Almost finished the last chapter actually, maybe 20 more pages to go I think. I'm still trying to work out the ending in my mind and get it onto paper. So it may be the next to last chapter. I don't know just yet but I'm close." Castle answers her question.

"That's great dad!" Alexis was excited and by the look on Kate's face, so was she.

"I'll download it onto a flash drive so you can plug it into your own laptop pumpkin." Castle offers since he didn't want to use up the paper or ink to print it all out.

Rick was outside in the storage building getting ready to go pig hunting. The plan was to have smoked BBQ ribs for Christmas dinner with BBQ pork shoulder later and bacon for breakfast.

"Have you figured out what to get your father for Christmas?" Kate asks as they are searching the new boat again and looking it over.

"I think so. … It's hard to figure out what to get both of you. Access to things is so limited." Alexis was having trouble, mostly with what to get Kate.

"I know the feeling. After mom died, dad and I just stopped celebrating Christmas. Dad would disappear up to our cabin to get away from everyone and I would offer to work the holidays. I didn't have anyone to celebrate with or a reason to enjoy the season, so I gave my time so other officers could have the day off." Kate explains her holidays.

Kate instantly had Alexis's arms wrapped around her. "I'm sorry Kate, I know you were close to your mother. Now she's not here to see you accomplish your goals or make the pain go away. … But you've got us now. You feel like family now." Alexis explains.

Kate hugged Alexis. "I know honey, it's just that it's been a long time since I had a family, this is unchartered territory for me, but I'm trying." Kate wanted to open up like she used to do. It's just that she had spent a lot of years guarding her heart and hiding.

Work had become her life and until these two had come along she didn't understand what she was missing out on. Now she did, and she was trying to open up to these two. Kate was just starting to see a magical future with them.

"BBQ ribs for a Christmas Eve dinner, no snow, no tree not even one Christmas light, no fireplace to hang stockings. It's not even cold outside." Castle moans.

"Not Christmas enough for you Castle?" Kate smiled while she rubbed spices onto the ribs.

"You want to see us celebrate Christmas Beckett, you should have been in the loft last season. … We had two Christmas trees, life size nutcrackers, enough garland to turn anyplace green, glass snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, enough stickies on the windows they almost blocked out the sun.

You want Christmas, you should be at our house." Castle was proud of what he did to the loft in the past.

"What no mistletoe Castle?" Kate teases.

"Enough to make you lips fall of from fatigue." Castle offers.

"Guess you haven't seen what my lips can do yet Castle." Kate teases and watches Castle's shocked face and his inability to speak.

"Elf got your tongue Castle?" Kate teases while swiveling her hips. "Maybe you can write to Santa to have him give you one for Christmas." Kate was on a roll and was smiling wide.

"So what did you get me for Christmas Beckett?" If Kate was willing to talk maybe she wouldn't stop.

"Wouldn't you like to know Castle." Kate was smiling wider now.

"You show me yours and I'll show you mine?" Castle leaned forward.

"How elementary school of you Castle. You're a writer I expected better of you." Kate leaned in closer and stopped cleaning her fish.

"I'll use Alexis's color crayons and draw you some mistletoe." Castle offers and leans in closer till his lips are just an inch from Kate's.

"Chapstick." Kate whispers out.

Castle's eyes go wide. "Chapstick?"

"I'm not kissing those lips. They're dried and chapped. It's like kissing a brick." Kate tells him.

It had Castle up and running for his bathroom in search of Chapstick. It did however leave Kate smiling wide and Alexis laughing her ass off.

"What are you laughing about?" Kate asks, not caring that Alexis had heard that entire conversation.

"We sell Chapstick down in the store." Alexis manages to get out between laughs, and soon they both see Castle running back into the area and out the door that lead to the store on the other island.

"Are you going to kiss dad?" Alexis asks.

"Yup, maybe until his lips fall off." Kate smiles at Alexis.

Alexis slapped her hand over her mouth to keep Kate from seeing her wide smile. When they first got here Kate wasn't smiling much, now she was smiling almost all the time. Alexis could only hope that Kate was made a member of the family.

A little later Kate was smiling wide when Castle sat back down and placed a tube of Chapstick, cherry flavored down on the breakfast bar. Kate motioned for Rick to lean forward and when he was far enough Kate leaned across and gave Rick a quick kiss.

Dinner was over and all three of them were sitting outside looking up at the stars, something none of them could do in downtown New York City. "Do we wait for Santa?" Kate asks, meaning do they stay up all night and maybe catch a glimpse of him.

"I can't wait." Castle jumps up and runs inside.

"We usually open presents Christmas morning, finding out what Santa brought us." Alexis explains Castle tradition. However she also knew her dad was a kid at heart, and that part of him only got bigger at Christmas.

Alexis was missing snow, tree, lights, garland and everything she did with her father to help decorate the loft. All of the stuff was supposed to be on one of the boats that would come out with food for the freezers and other things. Now she had no idea where all that stuff was.

Castle was soon back, but didn't sit down. "We don't have any Christmas paper so I couldn't wrap them. I couldn't even find a suitable box small enough for them to use the Christmas paper on." Castle was a little sad about that.

"Soooo, here is your Christmas present and this one is yours." Castle hands over a small flash drive stick to each of them. Kate got Batman and Alexis got Iron Man. "I thought about using R2D2 and Yoda, but these seemed to fit better." Castle shrugged his shoulders.

'DAD! … Does this mean, …." Alexis couldn't finish her question.

"It really needs to be edited by someone, but this is the book you wanted me to write. I've even got notes I'm going to use for the next one. I think it's some of my best work yet." Castle was smiling.

"You can plug it into your laptop pumpkin and I left my laptop in Kate's room for her to use. It was too much to print it all out so you need to read it using a laptop." Castle explains.

Kate was simply sitting there hoping beyond hope that Castle had figured it out. Her mother and Castle's idea of how she died and who killed her based off of her mother's journal that some guy in the CIA had deciphered was all on this little memory stick she had in her hand.

Right or wrong it was more than Kate had ever had before in her life. Years of her trying to solve her death just might be in her hand.

It finally got Kate moving out of her chair and wrap her arms around Castle and kiss him openly, not caring that Alexis was watching or what she would say later. Likely tease her about it. It's just that this was big. Like really big.

After breaking from the kiss, Kate started grinning and lifted the flash drive over both of their heads. "Electronic mistletoe." Kate offers.

It did what Kate intended, it got Castle to kiss her softly and deeply as each sought out the taste of the other. It was a kiss that took Kate's breath away and left her panting and wanting more, so with her arms wrapped around Castle's neck, she did just that. Kissed him again.

Kate broke from the kiss and placed her lips at Castle's ear. "Thank you, you're an amazing man." Kate whispers softly and follows by kissing his ear.

"I'm going to go read." Kate tells both of them and removes herself from Castle's arms and strides inside and into her bedroom. "You two will get your Christmas presents in the morning." Kate calls out over her shoulder before closing the patio door.

"Thanks dad!" Alexis was happy that her dad was writing again. It was what he was supposed to be doing. "I'm going to go inside and start reading too. Merry Christmas dad." And Alexis kissed her father's head as she walked past.

"Merry Christmas." Rick responds and stays where he is to look at the stars.

Castle finally went inside and got a glass of water and put some ice in it and was standing in the kitchen sipping. **"NIKKI HEAT!? WHAT KIND OF NAME IS NIKKI HEAT!?" **Kate was yelling from her room. It placed a big smile on Rick's face as he headed for his room.

**It is now New Years day:**

"Hi, I found some tea downstairs." Jim offers and sits down next to her.

"Thanks." Martha picks it up and starts sipping. It obviously wasn't one of her favorite flavors, just beggars couldn't be choosy so she kept sipping.

"They're supposed to check in soon." Jim offers.

"Has Katherine told you anything? I know you told me that she is a private person, it's just I can't help but wonder if she has opened up any. I know my son can be a handful, I'm just hoping that Alexis is running interference between them." Martha had listened to everything Jim had to say about Katherine and Johanna over the last several months, after they both found out that their children were on an island together.

"I don't know how she feels about Rick. It's not like she is going to tell her father that she has found a boy that she likes. Her mother yes, me, not a chance.

I do know that she sounds a lot more happy lately. I can almost see and feel her smiling over the phone. Even the pictures they send of themselves shows that Katie doesn't look as serious as she used to. And living her life wearing a bikini all day." Jim was still processing that one.

"I know I'm reading in-between the lines, but the way she talks about Alexis and what she thinks of her mother makes me think she thinks a lot of that young woman." Jim confides.

"Alexis is a darling, she is the only good thing to come out of my son's first marriage. I told him not to marry Gina, that it was a mistake, but he didn't listen." Martha moans.

"Kids stop listening to their parents the second they become teenagers. Katie went through a terrible wild child faze as a teenager. I swear she brought home boyfriends just to get a reaction out of us. I'm just thankful that she finally came out of it without getting pregnant.

As close as she was to her mother, Katie didn't listen to her either.

Katie has closed herself off from almost everyone, she doesn't risk her heart for anyone. I haven't helped her with that." Jim was still kicking himself over how he had reacted.

"Don't beat yourself up Jim, you lost the love of your life. You're supposed to be hurting, it's expected." Martha reminds him again.

"Still disappearing into the bottom of a whiskey bottle was a bad choice." Jim knew he was still only one drink away from screwing it all up again.

They both soon had smiles on their faces when Espo came walking towards them carrying his cell phone and handed it over to Jim. "Katie?"

"Hi dad, just our weekly check-in to see how things are going." Kate tells him, not knowing Jim had put the phone on speaker.

"We're down to one main meal each day, it's good so we're not starving and the water is still running somehow and they keep pouring gas into the generators so I guess we still have some." Jim offers, still not willing to talk about their living conditions, as he looks out across the 4th floor that he, Martha and a lot of others had been assigned to.

There were TV's spread out all over and each one had a DVD player connected to it. However now that they were on emergency power only select TV's actually worked anymore and those were mostly for the children. They even had an X-box however it was on a different floor.

It was beginning to have the feel of a prison with the only outside access they had was going up to the roof to move around, until it got dark.

Kate had gotten most of a complete breakdown from Espo already and she felt guilty about how she and the Castle's were living, even if they were going to start to have serious trouble in about 5 months or less.

"I'm still just glad you're safe dad, what we've been hearing from the guy in Alaska and England isn't sounding optimistic." Robert had stopped hearing from his guy in Poland recently, it had been 3 weeks.

"Tell me your doing good Katie, that's all I care about." Jim would suffer all he had to if it meant his daughter was good.

"We're fine dad, we exchanged Christmas presents even. It was a lot of fun Castle and Alexis have been amazing, I'm glad to have them. … I'm going to give the phone back to Alexis so she can talk to Martha now. … I love and miss you dad." Kate was missing all of her friends.

"Girl is that you?" Lanie yelled out over the cell phone getting Kate and Alexis to start laughing.

"You sound a lot better Kate Beckett, I need details girl. How are you and Castle getting along?" Lanie knew Kate was alone with hunk Castle and was still praying Kate would open her eyes.

"Castle and I are fine Lanie." Kate rolled her eyes since Lanie still sounded like Lanie.

"Dad and Kate are kissing." Alexis yells from the edge of the desk in the office.

"ALEXIS HARPER CASTLE!" Kate was going to shoot her for that.


	6. Chapter 6

**CH26**

Kate was slowly waking up and started blinking her eyes open and started stretching her sleepy muscles and moved an arm to the other side of the bed and found it warm and empty. Telling her that it hadn't been that way for long.

Kate wasn't in the least bit worried about where he was. There was a time long ago when not finding the guy having stayed the night with her both a good thing and a lonely thing. It's just that she buried the lonely part deep inside herself and was usually happy that the bed was empty. However those times were gone now.

Now knowing that he was still around here somewhere brought a smile to her face. Something else that she hadn't done in a long, long time. SMILE! Kate didn't have much to smile about before.

It was only moments and she could hear people talking, and that got her smiling even wider, since it was obvious from the tone of the happy voices just who was doing the talking. It also brought to her mind what happened last night, that got her smiling even wider.

(Why did I wait so long? What we have is so special. Why couldn't I just have opened up earlier? I could have saved myself so much heartache. However I'm there now and I'm not giving it up. Not for any reason. Any reason at all.)

Kate started playing back what happened in her mind, while she swung her legs over the side of the bed throwing the thin bed sheet off of her. It was warm so they didn't need the comforter that was at the foot of the bed.

Hell it was always warm here, and it was almost always sunny too, unless one of the rain storms came through that they really needed to fill the fresh water cistern that was under the house.

Kate made her way to the bathroom buck naked and looked at herself in the mirror. The trip had shown that she was sore in places that she hadn't been sore in for a long time. This knowledge also brought a smile to her face. Because it was a good kind of sore, a kind of sore that with some more practice wouldn't ever be sore again. And there was going to be lots of practice in her future, lots and lots of practice.

Kate didn't even recognize the woman in the mirror. Her long hair was a mess, but there was a reason for that. However she also had a really deep tan. Actually everyone had a deep tan now. Her tan however was because of a different reason. Her breasts weren't as tanned as the rest of her, however they were tanned. Now under her bikini bottom was another question. That area was clearly white.

That reason had Kate smiling even wider and at this rate if she kept it up her face was going to break.

(If only Lanie could see me now!)

Lanie would likely break her ear drums with her scream and then break countless ribs as she hugged Kate.

Kate had stepped out of the shower and dried her hair and applied a minimal amount of make-up. Very minimal since neither of them had very much left, with not much chance of getting any more anytime soon.

Kate slipped into one of her bikinis and put on a wrap around her waist and slipped her feet into her flip flops. Flip flops and her bikini was one more thing that had changed in her life. It was the primary reason she had such a deep tan. Kate didn't even miss her high heel boots anymore, even if they were still around here somewhere.

Kate left her service weapon lying on the night stand. In different circumstances it would be locked up somewhere, but these were not normal circumstances. In fact they had weapons stored all over the place and all of them knew how to shoot, Kate had even helped all of them learn how to shoot better. Mildly surprised that the two of them already knew how to shoot, even Alexis. Alexis just wasn't as good at it as her father or herself.

Kate headed for the door to join the others, not caring anymore what it looked like with her coming out of his bedroom into the family room with the open kitchen just off to one side, with another kitchen out off the back patio. Kate's heart was flying and she was fairly certain her feet weren't touching the ground.

Kate knew today she was going to use the phone and get an update on everyone she had left behind and prayed that she would see all of them again, Kate just didn't know when that day would be. That phone was her one lifeline to her old life and all the friends she had been forced to leave behind.

It also took her back in time as she opened the bedroom door to the questions and looks that were going to come her way, not that she cared anymore, she was happy, so very damn happy and everyone in this room was responsible for that.

Kate stepped out into the living room and all of the talking stopped, which was a little unnerving, still Kate expected some kind of reaction.

Alexis ran across the room and slammed into Kate and wrapped her arms around Kate. "I love you mom. … Thank you for loving dad too." Alexis whispered into Kate's ear.

Kate and Rick were sitting on the sofa with Kate leaning her head on Rick's shoulder when Alexis finally came back inside and made a beeline for the refrigerator to get some water.

Alexis was soon standing in front of both of them with her water. "Have you finished dad's book?" Alexis asks looking at Kate.

That got Kate to lift her head off of Rick's shoulder. "I have actually. … I'm having trouble deciding what is fiction and what is based on fact." Kate knew some of it had to be fiction, just what parts.

"O-kay." Alexis sat down on the coffee table and looked at both of them. "Let's take some of the key points and go over them one by one.

Your mom was working on a case to get someone out of prison that was wrongly accused." Alexis starts off with.

"A mobster who is obviously guilty." Kate starts off.

"All mobsters are guilty, but don't most high level mobsters hire someone to do their killing for them. Makes it harder to pin them for the murder." Alexis counters.

"There are dirty cops and a dirty commissioner and a dirty prosecutor." Kate moves on.

"It helps explain how Montgomery can afford to buy dad's beach house." Alexis points out.

"He's my boss, my mentor. He helped me for my captain's exam, helped me how to run a precinct. You're asking me to believe a man I trust that he is dirty, let alone involved in my mother's murder." Kate points out.

"Your mother's notes pegged three NYPD people were involved. She just didn't name them. One cop, the police commissioner and a prosecutor would fill that bill." Rick points out.

"The commissioner and the mayor hired me to replace Montgomery when he retired. Why would they give me even more power if they were guilty?" Kate didn't see the connection.

"You keep your friends close and your enemies, ..." Rick offers.

"And they in turn take orders from someone or in this case a group of someones." Kate passes that topic by for now.

"A group of business men who are generating money for one or more political candidates." Kate moves on to the next topic.

"And which political positions are the most influential? President, Secretary of State and Chief of Staff." Alexis ticks off the list in Rick's book.

"With a military man that is selected as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs." Kate lists off the last of the top bad guys.

"Who supplies the highly skilled and extensively trained killers." Alexis points out.

"And since voters are a fickle group there is no guarantee that one of them makes President. Which is where one of these hired killers comes into play because one of them IS the vice president." Kate points out a part of Rick's book.

"And as President he fires and hires who he pleases, presto they are in charge of the United States and everything it does." Alexis points out the plot.

"Except for one precinct captain who smells a rat and with the help of her tag along journalist is threatening all of their hard work and plans.

And what kind of name is Nikki Heat?" Kate punches Rick's arm.

Rick rubs his hurt upper arm area. "It's a cop name." Rick counters.

"It's a stripper's name Castle, and you're changing it before you publish it." Kate admonishes him.

"Kate is right dad. Cop by day and practically escort prostitute by night." Alexis didn't know her dad could write stuff like that.

Rick jerked his head to look at Alexis. "How do you know about that? I wrote two different versions and gave Kate the more graphic version and yours was more tame." Rick hadn't meant for his daughter to read that. She was 16 years old for Christ's sake.

Alexis shook her head. "That was really, … I didn't know you wrote that kind of stuff dad. That was pornographic." Alexis had even skipped over parts of it.

"CASTLE!?" Kate turned to glare at him.

"Honest I didn't mean to, I actually did write two different versions. That's part of why it took so long. …. I'm sorry pumpkin I never meant for you to read all that." Rick was ready to shoot himself.

"It's ok dad, I did skip over most of that. … Most of it anyway." Alexis tilts her head left and right a little.

"You made her breaking the corrupt cop the key to everything Castle." Kate points out.

"He was the weak link. His killing off the military trained hired killers with help from Nikki and Rook was the turning point. After that it just kind of all fell apart." Rick points out.

They were all quite for a time. "I don't know Castle. It means Montgomery is dirty, and that's just so hard to believe." Kate couldn't get past it.

"It explains the money to buy my beach house. He decides to retire and has you take his place, making you too busy to investigate your mother's murder. You have to divide your time over an entire precinct. You're so busy you don't have time to investigate them, him or her." Rick points out. "The money to buy the house is keep quiet money." Rick points out. Or at least it is in his book.

"So why are they generating money for the politicians? The Senate has control over what bills are passed not the President. Granted he has veto power." Kate questions.

"True, except in this case they are interested in what comes into the US and what goes out." Alexis points out.

"And gain control over the FBI and CIA by placing the directors that will do as they're told in charge." Rick points out.

"It's complex Castle, really complex." Kate points out.

"And when Nikki gets the first domino to fall all of the others fall with it." Rick points out.

"It's a good book Castle, one of your best." Kate points out.

"Any ideas what we are going to do in about 3 months? Our pantry is likely only going to last about a month past that time.

Plus the gas will lose enough octanes that it'll be useless not long after." Rick offers looking into the future.

"O-kay, so we can only stay here for a few more months. We have water, pigs, fruit and nut trees and a greenhouse with at least a few vegetables. Plus we have power so we won't die. At least not right away.

We know only islands are completely clean. Japan is likely too far. … How about England, it's clean?" Kate asks trying to work out where they could go.

Alexis started shaking her head. "Too far, it's like 3,400 miles just from New York. And even at 600 miles per hour it takes hours and we can travel at half that speed, and only have a range of about 2,200 miles." Alexis shoots England down.

"2,200 miles. … That leaves out Alaska naturally. Maybe someplace cold in Canada?" Kate brightens up, thinking Canada was mostly clean since it was cold.

"Except even Montreal has a summer period." Rick points out.

"We're going to have to think of something Castle. Even if it's just a land somewhere grab and flee back here with whatever food we can find." Kate offers. "So what is in reach of here that isn't more than 2,200 miles?"

They soon found themselves sitting in the plane with one of the tables folded out and Alexis's flight maps laid out on top.

"We could make Churchill Airport as the furthest place north, … and anyplace along this arc." Alexis draws an erasable arc on her chart. "I'll take us hours to get that far."

"We need to stay away from talking to the military." Kate adds.

"Because they are looking to flex their muscles and take food from where they can find it." Alexis adds.

"Something is going on you two. Why are we all having these Déjà vu moments?" Rick asks.

"All of this is driving me crazy." Kate comments as she leans back into the chair away from the flight maps on the table.

"All of this reminds me of that Bill Murray movie 'Groundhog Day' or that Star Trek episode where the Enterprise was caught in that time loop and they kept re-living the same moment over and over again." Rick points out.

"But dad Groundhog Day was about living the same day over and over again. It was estimated that he re-lived that one single day 100,000 times before he broke it. Even that Star Trek episode was all the same day. This has been months!" Alexis points out.

"Plus Bill Murray KNEW he was repeating the same day time after time. The Star Trek crew only figured it out when they sent a message to themselves using Data." Rick adds.

"Too bad we don't have a Data." Alexis mimics Kate and sits back in her chair.

"Somehow we need to figure this out. Something is the cause of it. Some event." Rick tells them.

"This isn't some Sci-fi TV episode Castle, this is real life." Kate counters. "There has to be some concrete explanation, something that doesn't involve little green men."

"They're gray actually with big black eyes." Rick corrects Kate only to have Kate glare at him. "Think about it Kate. One or two episodes of **Déjà vu** I can understand, but entire months worth? Something is going on, a catalyst that caused all of this." Rick pleads his case, only to have Kate remain silent, which Rick took as a good sign.

"Maybe we should sleep on it?" Alexis offered.

It got them back inside the house and spend the rest of the day spending time with each other.

Kate stepped out into the living room the next morning and found Alexis at the stove making an omelet for herself. "Morning honey." Kate hugged Alexis from behind and kissed her head.

"Morning Kate, is dad up yet?" Alexis was wondering if she should start one or two more omelet's.

"No he's still sleeping." Kate answers her question.

"Wore him out last night I take it." Alexis teased Kate.

"ALEXIS CASTLE! …. Well maybe just a little." Kate grinned wide while starting to blush. Kate was still getting used to just how far these two were into her heart.

It had Alexis chuckling. "Want one? With 11 chickens laying eggs now, we have a lot each day. More than we need really." Alexis offers.

"Yes please, do we actually have enough items to keep making these?" Kate was wondering if they should just switch to scrambled eggs in the morning, along with bacon.

"We have enough to last the next 2 or maybe 3 months still. After that it will depend on what is still in the greenhouse." Alexis started another omelet for Kate. "And you like dad now?" Alexis asks with her back still turned to Kate.

It had Kate smiling wide. "Yes I like your father now." Liked him a lot actually and was learning to like him even more.

"Do you love dad? …. Because I think he loves you too." Alexis still doesn't turn around. Alexis did however soon find herself in Kate's arms from behind.

"Yes I love you father now, almost as much as I love you honey. … I still can't believe that I ran into you in that hotel parking lot. I didn't have a plan and nowhere to go except back into Manhattan. Just that Espo told me that the military had already blown all of the bridges.

Maybe I could have found a boat, even if it was just a row boat. Something, anything." It was the only thought Kate had at the time.

Alexis twisted in Kate's arms. "I'm happy we found you too, and I love you too." Alexis melts into Kate and let Kate wrap her arms around her tighter.

Kate was content to just stand there holding her, wishing, … "I think you need to turn my omelet." Kate releases Alexis who quickly spins and gets back to cooking breakfast.

**It is now one month later: (February)**

"Hi Espo, it's been a week, how are things?" Kate asks using speaker phone as usual.

"Beckett, it's about time you called. You can come home." Espo tells them.

That got all three of them to look shocked, so shocked that none of them had a voice.

"Beckett, you still there Beckett?" Espo asks after too much silence.

"We can, … we can come home?" Kate finds her voice first.

"Not today of course but soon. Likely a month or so maybe." Espo put the brakes on their celebration.

"They found a cure?" Kate asks, not believing it, but praying that it was the truth.

"Not a cure exactly. Seems they worked out that the infected need an un-infected body to bite and infest with their disease. If you are already infected with another disease they seem to know this and not bite you.

They're calling it invisibility, since they don't even know you're there. So they are working on making shots to give everyone a disease. One that can be cured and isn't fatal. It's just that they need time to make that many shots." Espo explains.

The phone call lasted a little longer discussing various things, but the main thing was that they could fly home soon!

**It is now one month later:**

The three of them were running around all over trying to accomplish any number of things. Alexis was overseeing the loading of the plane, knowing just how much cargo it could hold and where to store it. While Kate and Rick were loading the golf cart and trailer with what was left of their food out of the pantry.

They also filled 3 coolers, all the coolers they had, with all the pork and some of the shark that was in their freezers.

In addition they were taking all of their weapons along with all of the ammunition.

Everything was locked up tight and shut down for hibernation until if or when they return.

"Here we go." Alexis states and pushes a pair of levers on the middle console far forward. However they didn't go anywhere and just as Kate started to question Alexis, Alexis let go of the brakes and they shot down the runway and were airborne in no time.

Kate was silent as she just watched Alexis work the controls and watched the three color screens.

About half way into their flight Kate could see Alexis talking. "Who are you talking to?" Kate asks finally, only to have Alexis point.

Kate looked and found that just off their port side was an F/A-18E Super Hornet.

"They wanted to know who we were and where we are going and if we had shots waiting for us when we land." Alexis informs Kate.

Kate remained quiet and let Alexis handle it all, still very impressed with her. Kate had learned a lot in the last few months, and was looking forward to learning still more about both of them.


	7. Chapter 7

**CH7 (April)**

"Beckett, my office." Roy calls out from his doorway.

Kate gets up from her desk and looks at the guys for a clue to what Roy wanted her for and quickly went over the open cases in her mind. They were still working all of them, they even had two white boards up.

Their closure rate hadn't dropped in a long time, certainly not since Kate took over. In fact the 12th had the highest closure rate in the city, it was something Kate was proud of. Roy's confidence in her wasn't something she took lightly.

"Sir?" Kate steps into his office.

"Close the door Beckett." Roy tells her from his seat behind his desk.

Kate was confused, this had happened already, Hadn't it? Kate even knew what Roy was going to say next.

"Sit down Beckett." Kate was sure what he was going to say next.

"I'm retiring Beckett, effective in two months. I want you to think about taking the captain's test and applying for my position. You've proven yourself over the years and I've taught you everything I know. You're the best detective this city has ever seen." Roy tells her, still sounding tired to her ears.

"You've been in overall command of the homicide floor as a lieutenant for over a year now. You'll have to learn about robbery, gangs and everything else that goes with running a precinct and I'll be here for the next two months helping you."

"I accept sir, so long as you'll help me." Kate pushed what Roy was going to say along a little faster.

Roy tried blinking back his surprise, he didn't expect Kate to agree so easily and quickly.

"1PP is already aware of my intention to retire. I've heard rumors that a Victoria Gates is my likely replacement if you decide not to take the test." Roy tried to apply a little pressure.

"Cast Iron Gates from Internal Affairs? …. She hates cops sir. She would turn this precinct into hell. There would be massive transfer requests. We'd go from the best precinct to the worst. This place would be filled with people that didn't want to even come into work, let alone do their jobs to the best of their abilities." Kate felt like she had said all that before, but when?

"Think about it Beckett, just don't think about it too long." Roy warned her.

"I'll do it sir, when do we start." Kate already knew she was going to do this.

Kate steps out of Roy's office and heads for her desk. "I'm going for coffee." Kate informs Ryan and Espo, and grabs her weapon, shield, cuffs and her jacket since it was still cool outside.

Kate was walking for the coffee shop when she suddenly knew who was just about to step out of the coffee shop and it got her to start running and opened the door just in time for Richard Castle to reach for the door. "CASTLE!" And Kate falls into his arms and kisses him soundly feeling Rick kiss her back, stroking her bottom lip with his tongue asking for entrance and Kate gives it to him gladly.

Kate finally broke from the kiss and rested her forehead against his. "It's starting again." Kate whispers out ignoring the looks they are getting from everyone as Rick still has the door to the coffee shop still open.

"Everything is already sold so it's not that." Rick points out.

"Montgomery is still retiring and wants me to take the captains exam and apply for his job, so it's not that." Kate answers.

"The infection has already taken place in South Korea, so our stopping it isn't likely, unless you know someone who can drop a few nukes on South and North Korea to stop it from spreading." Rick adds.

Kate moans and buries her head into Rick's chest. "What's the last thing you remember?" Rick asks Kate.

"Flying home from your island home. … We hadn't even been in the air long." Kate talks into his chest.

"So whatever it is happens between now and when we leave. Is it the invisibility shots? It would save a lot of lives." Rick points out.

"We've talked to the military several times already. Either they don't believe us or they're too focused on finding patient zero." Kate lifts her head to look up at him, which isn't all that far since she is wearing her heels.

"Maybe we need to find a different person to try and convince. CDC or WHO maybe instead of the military." Rick offers. "Does it feel like we've tried that?"

Kate shook her head. "I'll see what I can learn, maybe Sorenson knows someone." Kate offers.

"Your old FBI squeeze?" Rick questions.

"Jealous are we? It's sweet, but you have nothing to worry about. He's in my past." Kate tells him.

"I'll do some research when I get home, look up some names. Maybe there is someone I know that can help us. Coming to the loft after you're off work?" Rick asks.

"I need to stop at my place and gather up some clothes including all of my bikinis. Don't forget to pick up that second Tommy gun and a sniper rifle babe. If we keep changing things other things may start happening and I need to bring extra ammunition for my service weapon." Kate reaches up to give Rick a quick kiss.

"I'll see you at the loft tonight, Alexis is probably already expecting you." Rick smiles.

"I want to see Alexis too. I'll be there babe, have a good day." Kate kisses Rick soundly this time before going into the coffee shop to get her cup of coffee.

Rick runs his normal errands. Goes to see his bank and transfer money, however he also withdrawals another $60 thousand in cold hard cash, which isn't easy to accomplish since most banks don't actually keep all that much lying around.

Rick also goes to see his lawyer to finalize all the sales and purchases. Then he moves to a coffee shop and pulls his laptop out of the car and looks up where he might find that second Tommy gun just like last time and look for that sniper rifle that Kate wants.

At first Rick sees the Barrett that fires a .50 caliber round from up to a distance of 2 miles and likes the sound of it. It's just that after he makes a few inquiries he finds out just how hard it is to find enough ammunition to make it a viable purchase.

So he goes with a recommendation at one of the stores he goes to.

L115A3 AWM (British) since it fires either a .300 Winchester Magnum or a .338 Lapua Magnum.

Problem was Rick didn't know much about sniper rifles so he was relying on the owner of the store, who happened to have one in stock, so Rick bought it and all of the .300 and .338 ammunition that he had in stock. He would be back in 10 days to pick it up. The owner had even told him he might be able to get more ammunition in by that time too. So Rick told him he would take all he could supply. Then he went back to one of the other shops and bought out their supply of .300 and .338 that they had in stock.

Kate had her coffee and went back to the precinct and sat down next to Roy and worked with him to study to be a captain and learn how to run a precinct. All the while she is thinking 'You're involved with my mom's murder somehow and yet I trust you. You've been nothing but kind to me since I got here as just a lowly officer fresh out of the Academy.'

Kate was released for the day and knew that she usually went down to see Lanie, its just that if she went this time Lanie would see the giant smile on her face and throw a thousand questions at her. "Maybe another day." Kate tells herself and uses her desk computer to start digging into Roy Montgomery's past around the time her mother was killed.

Everything she found today got downloaded onto a flash drive and Kate turned off her computer and grabbed her stuff and went home.

Kate opened her door to her apartment and dropped her gun, badge, radiation detector and cuffs on the counter and went into her bedroom and pulled out a suitcase and dropped it on the bed. Next she started rifling through her drawers and started pulling out items to take with her.

Kate knew she was never coming back here again, so she needed clothes and shoes for the next two weeks. Well one week really since Rick had a washer and dryer. Plus 3 of her bikins and every sexy unmentionable that she owned.

It had Kate grinning wide knowing that for the next two weeks she was going to tease Castle by wearing them and let him strip them right back off of her so that they could make love to each other. Kate could already feel the need to be in Castle's arms.

Kate was way past the need to be running from Castle now, actually all she wanted to do now was run TO him and not away from him. "God I love that man." Kate talks to herself as a set of red bra and panties goes into her suitcase.

Satisfied with her choices, Kate picks up her suitcase, the stuff she had dropped on the counter and heads for her cruiser for the drive to the loft where she was going to spend the next 2 weeks before flying to Rick's islands with Alexis.

Except Kate had a thought as she was driving that she was going to bring up with Rick and Alexis. Would this change help or hurt? And how did they talk them into it?

Kate parked outside and pulled out her suitcase, only to be stopped by the doorman. Kate cursed at herself since she had forgotten to call ahead and have Castle add her to the list.

It only took a minute. "You can go up miss, have a nice night." He tells her.

Kate smiled since she had every intention of having a nice night, a really nice night!

Since Kate didn't as yet have a key it forced her to knock. Kate watched Castle open the door. "KATE!" And instantly found herself in Castle's arms and felt him kissing her as Kate kissed him back willingly.

"Come in, come in." Rick lets go of her and steps to one side and closes and locks the door. "Here, this is yours." Rick tells her and hands her a key to the loft.

"Thanks Castle." Kate smiles, takes the key and gives Rick a quick kiss.

"The bedroom for that bag is through there." Rick points, except Kate never makes it that far.

"**MOM!" **It got Kate to look up and see Alexis come flying down the stairs with her reddish/orange hair flying all over her head and face. Kate soon found herself in her daughter's arms as Kate held her close and neither of them tried to stop the tears.

"It's beginning again, isn't it?" Alexis asks without letting go of Kate.

"I'm afraid it is honey." Kate answers and kisses Alexis's head. They had done this so many times now that the three of them already knew most everything that was going to happen. "What is the last thing you remember?" Kate asks pulling back just far enough to look at Alexis without letting go of her.

Alexis looked at Kate and thought about it. "Flying. … I was talking to another navy pilot. He wanted to know where we were going, if we had, had our shots or if we had shots waiting for us." Alexis responds.

"Same as all the other times." Kate points out. "Montgomery is still retiring and Castle has completed all the sales and the purchases. Which makes the key to this somewhere in the middle." Kate comments.

"Have you had dinner?" Rick asks knowing that Alexis and himself haven't eaten yet, and watches Kate shake her head.

"Go unpack and I'll start dinner, we can talk while I cook." Rick offers, and kisses Kate's head as he walks for the kitchen.

"Good, because there is something I want to ask the two of you." Kate tells them, and lets go of Alexis, picks up her bag and goes into the master bedroom to unpack. It wasn't large as master bedrooms go, however it was nicely decorated. Kate noticed that, that blasted picture on the wall that Kate just knew was staring at her had to go again.

Kate joined Alexis at the breakfast bar to watch Rick cook and kissed Alexis's head as she sat down. "That picture has to go again Castle."

Rick turned and was all set to argue for his picture, but remembered that he had lost all the other times and was going to lose this time to. "Fine, I'll take it down when we go to bed."

"I'm sorry Castle, it's just I can feel that thing watching me, and I can't get to sleep with it watching my every move. It's like it's going to jump out of the frame and rip my throat open." It got Alexis to chuckle yet again, just like she had the previous few times.

"I wanted to talk to you two about how to get Martha and my dad to come with us this time when we fly out." Kate starts off with.

"That's a great idea mom. … Why didn't we think of this before?" Alexis had never liked leaving her grandmother behind. It's just that they were always rushed.

"You think that will change anything?" Rick asks.

"Probably not no. … It's just that it always sounds like the people staying in the precinct or the hospital that the 54th takes over have it hard, while we are relaxing out on the island. And the house has 4 bedrooms, more than enough to give them each a bedroom." Kate points out.

"Feeding 2 more people will empty our pantry that much faster." Rick points out.

"We have cargo capacity on the plane dad. We could take a few more cases of vegetables with us along with the coolers of frozen food that we've been taking the last few times." Alexis offers.

"Ok, so we have to go shopping anyway. I'll make a trip to pick up a few more cases of canned vegetables. Anything else?" Rick asks turning his back to his cooking.

"We could have more fresh vegetables if the greenhouse was bigger." Kate offers.

"I'll do some research and see if there is something we can take to increase capacity. We'll need pots, compost and seeds." Rick turns to look at the two of them. "All of this will take up space and add weight." Rick cautions.

"Five people means less cargo capacity due to weight restrictions. Remember mom there is no wind when we land. If we're too heavy, we don't stop in time so we can fly back out later. …. To do this all over again." Alexis moans.

Kate takes Alexis's hand in hers. "This is going to be the last time honey. I'm as tired of doing this over and over again as you are. I want my life back too." Kate assures her.

Kate was stepping out of the shower with Rick right behind her next morning. They were both soon standing next to each other while Kate was glowing after last night, this morning and just now in the shower.

Kate was had just finished blow drying her hair and was working on applying her make-up for the day.

"The weapons you asked for have been purchased and I can pick them up after the 10-day wait. I already have hundreds of rounds for the sniper rifle downstairs in the storage locker." Rick tells her. "Alexis and I are going to work out how much cargo we can safely handle and start loading the plane now while we have the time." Rick adds.

"We need information on Montgomery, the commissioner and the lead prosecutor, if in fact it is those three that are involved. As well as the senators. We need to know what they are doing." Kate wanted to figure this out and get her life back. Her life with Rick and Alexis in it.

"I'll make some phone calls and see where the senators are located and what they are doing. We need to all get together and brainstorm on how to figure out the hired killers that are military trained. We get too close and we might not even make it to the island." Rick was worried about that.

"We need to be discreet about all of it. They catch wind that we are on to them and it might get ugly." Kate agreed.

"We need that domino Kate, whoever that person is. We need something to start with or we're going to do this all over again." Rick points out.

Rick met Kate at the front door where she retrieved her service weapon. "I'll pick up some more ammunition for your weapon when I pick up the sniper rifle and the second Thompson." Rick tells her.

"You be careful babe. … I love you." And Kate kisses Rick.

"I love you too, have a good day at work." Rick closes and locks the door after Kate is in the elevator.

Alexis came down the stairs to find her dad in the kitchen working on making breakfast. "Mom gone already?" Alexis asks as she sits down.

"Just left, want some breakfast?" Rick asks her.

"Just some cereal and toast thanks." Alexis wasn't really all that hungry.

"Coming right up daughter of mine." Rick answered happily. "We have some shopping to take care of and pre-load the plane." Rick tells her.

"I need to work out just how much weight we can safely add with 2 extra people before we load too much into it." Alexis warns Rick.

"We need to go get the coolers and go get ready to purchase all the frozen food like last time." Rick adds.

"Going to be a busy next two weeks." Alexis agrees as she picks up her spoon to eat her bowl of cereal.

**It is now one week later:**

A lot of the news was about the rabies outbreak just like the three of them anticipated.

Rick, Kate and Alexis were sitting on the sofa watching the news. "My contact has indicated that the senators are all disappearing in small groups by helicopter." Rick tells them.

"They're going into hiding, meaning they know what is coming and are just going to let the rest of us die or suffer. Suck up all the necessary food for them to survive while the rest of us starve." Kate was mad. The idea of the founding fathers had been perverted into this.

"I was kinda hoping they were caught unprepared just like the rest of the planet. What makes their lives better than millions of others?" Kate crossed her arms across her chest.

"I've got another source that told me that the military was calling everyone in. All leaves are canceled, he even personally watched as ship after ship was loaded with supplies." Rick adds.

"How is all of this going un-noticed by the press?" Alexis asks. That kind of operation would be obvious.

"It has been." Kate points at the TV and reaches for the remote to turn up the volume.

The news announcer was talking about the military being tasked to transfer aid in the form of food and medicine to affected areas.

"Using aircraft carriers, destroyers and cruisers?" Alexis questions. "I thought they used cargo ships for that, they can hold more."

"They know too." Kate was getting madder and madder.

"The government and our own military are abandoning us." Alexis sat there with her mouth hanging open. "How can they do this?"

"It's called trickle down theory. If the super rich are doing well it trickles down to the rest of us. If the super rich survive what is coming, the country will recover faster. I wouldn't be surprised in one political party had better plans on surviving than the other. Turn what's left into a one party country." Rick was ready to laugh if it wasn't so sickening.

"If the major CEO's of big companies can't be found either than we know that the government likely knows and the public is being left in the dark. "I don't want to cause a panic". Kate uses her hands to make quote marks in the air.

That got Rick to pull out his cell phone. "Who are you calling?" Kate asks.

"One of the local news stations. If anyone can keep track of that many people, it's them." Rick explains and sees the look on Kate's face. "Don't worry I won't spill the beans. Besides if CEO's are suddenly unavailable, that's news, they'll jump at it." Rick was smiling.

Kate had to admit it made sense.


	8. Chapter 8

**CH8**

They had agreed to fly out tomorrow, a full day before going all the previous times. They had decided to just spring it on Martha and Jim. Kate was going to go get her father packed and drive out to the Essex airport where the plane was already sitting with full tanks of gas.

Rick and Alexis were going to go get Martha packed at the same time and meet them at the plane. Their common fear was that if they gave Martha and Jim too much time to think about it, they would find a way not to go, and no just wasn't an acceptable answer.

Alexis had worked out just how much cargo they could risk. The coolers were sitting in the kitchen, empty, while what was going to go in them was in the freezer.

The guns and ammunition was also already on the plane. Put the coolers inside the plane along with their passengers and fly out.

Kate had made Captain and she was presently downstairs talking with Lanie. Kate felt bad about not bringing her friends, it's just that it came down to numbers and weight. There were only 6 seats for 8 people. Does she force Lanie to come with her and leave Espo and Ryan behind?

"Hi girlfriend, what brings you down here?" Lanie was happy to see her just didn't know why she was down here. They hadn't had a body in 2 days.

"I just came down to talk and give you this." Kate tells her and hands over a large vanilla envelope.

"What's this?" Lanie looked at it.

"Put it somewhere safe Lanie and open it tomorrow. … It's a surprise." Kate tells her.

"But you hate surprises." Lanie points out.

"I hate getting surprises, not giving them." Kate grinned since it was a play on her hatred of surprises.

"Ooooo, now you have me intrigued." And Lanie starts to rip it open now.

"NO! … Not till tomorrow Lanie. … please, promise me not till tomorrow." Kate pleads with her.

"It's important to you?" Lanie questions.

"Very. … It's important to you and the guys to, so wait until tomorrow." Kate tells her.

"Don't you have tomorrow off?" Lanie thought she remembered correctly.

"Yup, all day." Kate confirmed.

"Does it have something to do with one mystery writer that you have every book he has ever written?" Lanie decides that if she can't look at her surprise, she'll tease Kate.

That got Kate to smile wide. "Maybe." Knowing that her day was going to be filled with Castle.

"He's been good for you girl, I haven't seen you smile this much in a very long time." Lanie was happy for her. "Planning on spending the entire day in bed perhaps?" Lanie started grinning.

"LANIE! … I don't kiss and tell." Kate started blushing, since her walls were all down it was happening a lot lately.

"I expect an invitation girl or I'm going to hurt you." Lanie was still grinning wide.

"We're no where near that close to that Lanie, that is still in the distant future." Kate was hoping that there was a future, she didn't really want to have to repeat this all over again.

"Might be closer than you think girl. I've seen you two looking at each other. You two have got it bad." Lanie had only seen them together a few times, but Kate lit up bright whenever Castle was near.

"I know, we're kinda sappy and sickening together. Alexis teases constantly." Kate wasn't lying either. Alexis was likely the most sappy of the three of them.

"You sure your ready for an instant family?" Lanie asks a question that had been plaguing her lately.

"Alexis is almost a grown woman Lanie, she's already almost independent." Kate knew boyfriends were next and thankfully not likely susceptible to her wild child phase. Alexis was nothing like what she was. Plus Kate was loving being called mom.

Which was going to come as a shock to her father and Martha!

"What Kate? I saw that look." Lanie points at Kate.

"Just thinking about how Alexis is nothing like what I was when I was a teenager." Kate explains, which was a partial truth.

"Well I'm still happy for you girl. Precinct captain, boyfriend and a family that obviously loves you. Your mother would be proud of you." Lanie was glad that Kate had finally come out of her shell and joined the rest of the world.

"Yeah maybe." Kate still had one thing left to do to make her mother happy.

"MAYBE? Maybe nothing girl. All any parent wants is for their children to be happy. Once you have your own kids or think of Alexis as being yours, you'll understand what your mother wanted for you most of all." Lanie tells her.

Now that Kate's walls were down, she did see it. Still she really did want justice for her mother. Someone killed her and that someone should pay for his crime. She had gotten justice for a lot of people over the years, she just needed to get justice for herself.

"I'll see you later Lanie. .. And remember, don't open that until tomorrow." Kate reminds her of her promise.

Kate went back upstairs and put an identical envelope in Espo's and Ryan's desk. It was the most she could do for them plus she thought she was going to need their help, even if it was over long distance. Kate made sure her desk drawer was locked and that the box was inside the drawer. After that she went down to her car and drove home.

Kate let herself in since she had a key and found Alexis sitting at the breakfast counter with Rick in the kitchen just putting something in the oven. Kate came up from behind Alexis and hugged her and kissed her head. "Hi honey. … Are we all set for tomorrow morning?" Kate asks.

"Yup, the plane is loaded and filled with fuel just in case. Here's the list." And Alexis hands over the list that her and Rick had just finished going over themselves.

4 bags of compost

6 starter trays

24 packets of seeds of various vegetables

12 pots for plants

**(2) Seedhouses**  
3' high x 4' wide x 4' deep  
2 - 32" x 33" Zippered Windows  
2- 22" x 11" Screened Vents  
Weighs 9 lbs.

3 50 pound bags of chicken feed

3 cases of 24 18oz cans of green beans

3 cases of 24 18oz cans of peas

3 cases of 24 18oz cans of spinach

2 cases of 24 18oz cans of whole spears of asparagus

1 cases of 24 18oz cans of whole tomatoes

1 case of 12 boxes of powdered milk

1 case of 24 14oz cans of condensed milk

1 Keurig - 2.0 K550 4-Cup Coffeemaker - Black/Dark Gray

**Green Mountain Coffee, Nantucket Blend (80 K-Cups)**

**Green Mountain Coffee, French Vanilla (80 K-Cups)**

**Green Mountain Coffee, Colombian Fair Trade Select (80 K-Cups)**

**Green Mountain Coffee Hazelnut K-Cup (80 K-Cups) **

**Green Mountain Coffee, Breakfast Blend (80 K-Cups)**

1 case of 30 bags of Scarlet Jasmine Tea Blend

1 case of 30 bags of First Blush Tea Blend

1 case of 30 bags of Maharaja Chai/Samurai Chai Tea Blend

1 case of 30 bags of Blueberry Kona Pop Tea Blend

1 Tommy Gun with 400 rounds of ammunition with 1-100 round magazine

1 Accuracy International's L115A3 sniper rifle with 100 rounds of .300 and 100 rounds of .338 of ammunition

4 coolers filled with frozen vegetables

Chlorine and pool test equipment and 6 replacement filters

1 UV light

1 frozen 25 pound turkey

1 frozen 15 pound Honey Baked Ham

1 case of 12 Barolo Bussia Vigna Rocche Parusso 1995 0.75 lt.

1 case of 12 Barbaresco Bruno Giacosa 1998 0.75 lt.

1 case of 12 Barolo Monprivato Mascarello 2001 0.75 lt.

1 case of 12 Corton Domaine Romanée-Conti 2011 0.75 lt.

1 case of 12 Ornellaia Bolgheri Superiore 1998 0.75 lt

"**YOU GOT ME COFFEE!"** Kate with paper in hand dances in place and runs around the bar and into the kitchen and wraps her arms around Rick and starts kissing him all over his face, getting Alexis to smile at these two.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Kate goes back to kissing him. "Have I mentioned how much I love you lately?"

Rick chuckles, it was the simple pleasures in life that were the best and seeing Kate happy wasn't just any simple pleasure. "I think you may have mentioned it this morning, but you can remind me anytime the mood strikes you." Rick kisses Kate back.

The three of them were eating their last dinner in the loft at the very least for another 9 months when this story re-sets all over again, unless it was solved first. "Any luck on getting anyone to believe our invisibility shots story?" Kate asks.

"Hard to tell. I've talked with people in the CDC and even a couple of WHO people along with any number of news stations. Though if the news stations get overrun, they may not be alive to tell anyone. And it's possible that the CDC or even the WHO people will go out into the field and get infected, or they already are." Rick explains that he had tried.

"We could tell the navy F/A-18 E that will likely buzz us on the way out." Alexis offers.

"Except that we are leaving a day early this time. It isn't going to reach New York until the day after." Kate warns.

"Except that the navy has deployed every ship out of Norfolk already and they are going to start dropping nukes soon." Alexis points out.

"You can tell them if he shows up honey, we need to at least keep trying." Kate tells her.

"What about your friends at work?" Rick asks, knowing that they had talked about trying to bring them, just that they didn't have a big enough plane. Besides if it got any bigger it wouldn't land on their little airstrip.

"I left Ryan and Espo something on their desks; they'll find it in the morning tomorrow. And I gave one to Lanie too, plus I left that extra satellite phone you bought locked up in my desk. I left the key with Lanie." Kate explains. "It'll tell them everything they should do to make things easier on them.

Locations of all the major restaurants that I could find along with all the food courts and food trucks that are in Manhattan. Along with the delivery schedule for home heating oil trucks that they can intercept along with the delivery schedule of gasoline along with all locations I could find on where they could find Sta-bil to make the gasoline last longer.

I even found a few larger generators that contractors tow to job sites. They might be big enough so they can hook up the oven ranges that they will go out and get. So they can cook meals for longer periods of time." It was all Kate could think of to do. "I also left instructions for Espo and Ryan to look into Captain Montgomery's past, see who he was associated with at the time my mother was killed." Kate tells them.

"You could have done that in the last two weeks Kate." Rick points out.

"He's my boss Castle, my mentor. He's taught me everything I know. I, … I couldn't bring myself to do it. … I'm sorry." Kate hung her head low.

"He might be the domino we need Kate." Rick points out.

"**I know that Castle, don't you think I know that!"** Kate gets up from the dining room table and moves over to plop down on the sofa, dejected.

Alexis motioned her head at her dad to get up and go with Kate.

Rick had planned on letting Kate have a moment, but he took his daughter's advice and went over and sat down next to Kate, but didn't say a thing.

Eventually Kate took a hold of his arm and leaned her head against his shoulder, only to have Rick lift his arm around her so that her head moved into a softer position.

Kate was quiet for a while. "I'm sorry Castle, my cop mind tells me he's involved, and yet I don't want to know. … Would you believe Martha was capable of murder if a pair of detectives showed up to arrest her?" Kate tried to get Castle to see it with her eyes.

"I get it Kate, honest I do. No one wants to believe that a person they thought they knew isn't all they think they are. … Has it occurred to you that he is doing everything he can for you? Making you the best homicide detective New York has ever seen, because he feels guilty. Maybe he didn't actually kill your mother, but maybe he knows or at least suspects who did.

Did you at least look into how he could afford my house in the Hamptons?" Rick asks.

"Yeah, and it's not inheritance money, It's not money from a trust of his or Evelyn's. Without a court order I couldn't pull his financial records. .. How did he buy it?" Kate asks not turning to look at Rick.

"It's paid for, no mortgage. It was paid using a bank transfer from an account in the Caymans." Rick tells her. "I didn't know how he paid for it at the time. Just that since he had 2 girls I was glad it was going to a family. He wasn't even the highest offer. It was the 2 girls that sold it for me." Rick explains.

Kate simply snuggled in closer, knowing that it made Roy look even guiltier. "I left instructions with Espo and Ryan to look into his past and try and trace the money while doing it quietly." Kate left her hope that they didn't find anything unsaid, even if Rick did hear it loud and clear.

"What are you going to write this time babe?" Kate changes the subject.

"Same book as last time, only this time it should only take a few weeks, since it's all up here. Word for word." Rick taps his head. "Then I'll start another Nikki Heat book." That got Kate to start laughing.

"You're still changing the name Castle." Kate informs him.

"It's a great name, it's a cop name. … Just think of all the possible titles. Heat Wave, Frozen Heat, In Heat." Rick chuckled.

"How about Heat's Revenge or Hell's Heat." Kate offers and pinches Rick, hard.

"OWE! … Evil woman." Rick complains.

"And yet you love me." Kate teases.

"That I do, that I do. … And her name is Nikki Heat." Rick wasn't giving in.

"We'll see." Kate started smiling, since there was more than one way to get him to change his mind.

Kate and Rick were showered and dressed and eating a light breakfast with Alexis. "I wish we didn't need to use two cars, it just that it's faster this way." Kate tells them.

"You remember how to get there?" Rick teased.

"Better than you do." Kate teased back.

Kate had her bag that didn't really have much in it. A lot more make-up this time, along with 3 of her own bikinis' to go with the 3 that she got from the store on the island.

"I'll meet you at the plane babe, don't be late." Kate stroked his face. This was a first for them. They had never separated like this before; they didn't know what would happen.

"We'll be there Kate, come hell or high water, we'll be there." Rick gives Kate a quick kiss.

"Be careful mom." Alexis was worried, what if things changed?

"You stay with your father honey; he'll take good care of you." Kate hugs and kisses Alexis and heads for her car.

"Got your bag and your laptop?" Rick asks Alexis.

"Yup." Alexis lifts it up. Like Kate, her's was mostly nothing but make-up and 3 bikini's and another laptop, since she already had one in her room on the island.

Combined with her dad's laptop and the one in the office they would have 4 laptops this time.

"Let's go get your grandmother and not take no for an answer." Rick lifts up his equally light bag.

The Loft was sold and all shutdown for the next owner to take over.

Rick knocked on his mother's door and found her answering it. "Richard, it's good to see you. Have I forgotten something?" Martha knew they didn't have anything planned for today, unless she forgot.

"Go pack her a bag pumpkin." Rick instructs Alexis who runs off for Martha's bedroom.

"Richard what is going on?" Martha had heard her son tell her granddaughter to pack a bag for her.

"We're going on a vacation mother and your coming with us and no isn't an option." Rick tells her.

"Richard, I have a class to teach tomorrow and a rehearsal to attend the day after for a play over the weekend." Martha thought her son knew that but reminds him again.

"Not anymore mother, we have someplace to go and this time you're coming with us." Rick had screwed up but he didn't notice that he had given something away. However Martha did catch it.

Martha didn't really know what to say, this was so unlike her son.

"All packed dad." Alexis comes back into the living room area carrying a small bag that Alexis had packed for her.

"Let's go mother, we don't have much time. We have a plane to catch." Rick tells her.

"Richard I thought you were opening that tent resort that you bought?" Martha tries again.

"That's been put on hold for a little while." Rick answers her question.

"Come on grams, time to go." And Alexis takes her hand and drags her grandmother out her door, letting Rick lock it behind him.

"Are you in on this too dear?" Martha questions Alexis.

"You're coming with us grams, it's important." Alexis led Martha down to the car and put her in the front seat, while Rick got in behind the wheel. Alexis dropped Martha's bag on the cooler in the back seat next to her.

Rick started driving for Jersey and of course Martha knew it wasn't the right way to the airport.

"Where are you going Richard?" Martha questions as she watches where Rick is driving.

Rick however remained silent this time and was forced to slow down due to heavy traffic. As they got close to the bridge that lead to the Essex airport they found a pair of Abrams main battle tanks, a couple of Bradley fighting vehicles and a few humvees with a number of heavily armed men all mounted behind their machine guns.

"Goodness!" Martha was staring at all of them as one of the soldiers waved them across the bridge where they could all see men working on the bridge all dressed in military clothes.

"Is this about that rabies outbreak Richard?" Martha asks.

"It's not a rabies outbreak mother, it's something else and we're leaving New York to get away from it all." Rick tells her.

"Dad is telling the truth grams and we want you to come with us." Alexis offers from the back seat.

Martha watched Rick enter an airport and park behind what to her was a small plane. Martha stood next to the car and watched Rick and Alexis take coolers out of the car and take them inside the plane along with their bags.

Martha allowed Rick to escort her inside the plane. "Pick a seat mother; we need to wait for someone." Rick asks of Martha and watches as Alexis goes forward to seat in the pilot's seat.

"Who are we waiting for Richard?" Martha was curious. "And isn't this your little plane for your business?" Martha knew a little bit about his plan.

"We're waiting for Kate and her father." Rick explains and steps back outside of the plane to stand and wait.

Kate drove straight for her dad's apartment and was standing outside his door. "Don't take no for an answer, don't take no for an answer." Kate pumps herself up. Like Martha, her dad knew nothing about her being with Castle.

Jim answered the door. "Hi Katie, what a surprise." And Kate walked into his apartment going right past her father.

"You need to pack a small bag dad. Just some shorts, t-shirts and swim trunks if you have any." Kate tells him knowing that he was likely to live in those swim trunks for months, not sure if they had his size in the store.

"Pack? … For what Katie?" Jim didn't move from the door.

"Something is going to happen dad and you're coming with me." Kate tells him.

"Happen? … What's going to happen?" Jim still didn't move from the door.

"We don't have time to explain dad, but you need to pack or I'll do it for you." Kate tried to get him to hurry.

Jim did however start to walk for his bedroom. "Does this have anything to do with that rabies outbreak?" Jim went looking for a bag.

"It's not a rabies outbreak dad; it's something a lot worse dad, a whole lot worse. … And I'm not leaving you here to suffer it." Kate tells him and starts blinking back tears.

Jim started packing a suitcase. "No dad, just a small bag with light weight clothes, we have a washer dryer we can use. Just shorts, t-shirts and swim trunks and that's all. Everything else is waiting for us already." Kate tells him and steps into his closet and comes out with a small carry-on bag.

Kate was driving them to the plane however the traffic was barely moving and it took time just to get to the bridge. "WOW!" Jim's eyes opened wide as he watched them pass a pair of Abrams tanks and other military vehicles and lots of heavily armed soldiers.

"It really is bad, isn't it?" Jim turned to look at his daughter.

"I'm afraid so dad, really bad." Kate kept her eyes on the road as they crossed the bridge.

Jim watched as they entered a small airport. "I take it we're flying." Jim offered watching Kate pass by plane after plane till she stopped right behind another car.

Jim got out and watched Katie run into the arms of a guy that was standing outside a bigger plane than some of the ones around it.

Rick let go of Kate so she could get their bags out of the car. "You must be Jim, … It's a pleasure to meet you sir." Rick offered his hand and watched Jim's mouth hang open as Jim took it.

"Time to go Kate." Rick takes the bags from Kate and takes them inside the plane.

"That's, … That's." Jim knew exactly who that was.

"Richard Castle dad, the real Richard Castle." Kate started smiling while escorting her dad over to the steps leading into the plane.

"And why are we going with Richard Castle?" Jim stopped to look at his daughter.

Kate was ready to shrink and suddenly felt like a teenager bringing home her latest boyfriend for her father's approval.

"Because he's my, … boyfriend dad and he's going to take all of us away from here." Kate tells him.


	9. Chapter 9

**CH9**

Kate watched Alexis work the controls with practiced ease as they made their way to the end of the runway. Kate could see Alexis talking but didn't know what she was saying. Likely it was stuff about where and when to move and when they could take off.

They were soon up in the air and since they took off going the wrong way Alexis was soon slowly changing course and Alexis continued to talk to someone.

It was half an hour later when Kate could hear Alexis's voice again. "It's yours Kate, I'm going to go back with dad for a moment." Alexis smiles as she watches Kate take control of the plane.

Alexis had faith that all those lessons Alexis had been giving Kate all this time, event after event were still in Kate's head. Alexis hadn't yet taught Kate how to take off or land, but Kate could hold a course and altitude and even make a soft banking turn to a new course. Beyond that they all needed Alexis.

Rick was sitting up front facing the cockpit and could see Kate pretty good since Rick was on the same side as Alexis, while Jim could see Alexis pretty good, since he was sitting next to Rick with Martha sitting behind Rick.

Rick was trying so very hard not to look at Jim, however he just knew Jim was staring at him and Rick was melting, fast! It was an explanation for his perspiration anyway.

"My wife was a big fan of your books." Jim offers.

"Yes sir, I know. .. Kate told me." Rick knew it was a lie. Well a white lie since he actually learned it from the papers Johanna had written that he had used to write his book.

"So, how long have you and Kate been together?" Jim asks, since this was the first he had heard of it.

Rick swallowed hard. Boy how does he answer that question? From Jim's perspective it was only a couple of weeks. Just that from his perspective it had been years. All three of them had lost count just how many times they had lived the upcoming nine months. So damn many times.

It was also why he knew he loved Kate with all of his heart and she him. They had told each other this so many times. It was why Kate was mom to Alexis and Alexis was her daughter. They had grown into a family.

There was even one event where Kate was pregnant. It's just that the 'event' had started over again before she had given birth. At the start of the next event Rick had found Kate at his front door sobbing.

From her perspective she had lost their baby and it had been more than she could handle, so they had gone back to using protection to prevent Kate from getting pregnant again. Neither of them wanted to go through a pregnancy only to not end up with a baby to hold in their arms.

Kate had gone through finding out she was pregnant. Gone through morning sickness. Gone through having her back hurt, swollen feet, enlarged breasts. Having to need help just to get off the sofa.

They had even tried to delay flying home. They had even considered not flying for home at all. It's just that the thought of giving birth alone with just Rick and Alexis, no drugs, no medical help and no baby items had gotten them on the plane for home. Only to have the entire thing reset yet again.

It was something that they were not willing to go through again, when it didn't result in having a baby to love. It was just far too painful for all of them, especially for Kate.

It had taken Rick and Alexis days before they saw a glimmer of the Kate that they knew and loved again. They had accomplished almost nothing during that event before it was time to fly out to the island. Even after that it had taken weeks before Kate was Kate again.

They had lived a lifetime in those nine months. "Just around 2 weeks sir." Rick decided on Jim's point of view truth, anything else at this stage would sound like he was a mad man. Not playing with a full deck. He had bats in his belfry. He was a few french fries short of a happy meal. Dumber than a box of rocks. One taco short of a combination plate. Sharp as a marble.

Rick shook his head. Sometimes being a writer was a curse. "We encountered each other at a coffee shop and started meeting for coffee. I've started a roughing it resort for people that want that real experience while deep sea fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling or just want to get away from it all. No cell phone service and wanted to spend your time like you did when you went camping. Just with a few luxuries for the ladies.

Fly in for a weekend or stay the week. The initial idea was that it was all inclusive. One price gets you anything you can do there. We even have a Luau dinner, complete with dancers if I could find them.

Fly in and out on this plane or come in your own boat or yacht. We have deep sea access." Rick explains.

Rick was spared being drilled by Jim when Alexis suddenly showed up and sat down in the only empty seat left, which was behind Jim. Alexis however stopped at Martha and hugged her. "Hi grams."

"Alexis darling, it's great seeing you. … Just who is flying the plane dear?" Martha was confused, since Martha knew Alexis could fly. Alexis was dedicated to her father still. Maybe in a year or two she would decide to come out from behind his shadow and be the woman she is meant to be.

"Oh Kate is flying." Alexis explains like it was the most obvious thing.

"KATIE IS FLYING THE PLANE!?" Jim calls out surprised. Ok maybe shocked is a better term, since he didn't know Kate knew how to fly.

"Kate knows enough to fly straight and listen to the radio in case another navy fighter shows up, or someone calls." Alexis answers from her seat.

"Oh my manners. This is Alexis, my daughter and this is Martha Rodgers, my mother." Rick offers.

"Jim Beckett, Katie's father." Jim explains himself.

"You can have my seat Jim if you want." Alexis offers.

Sit in the pilots seat next to Katie while she flies the plane? He did have a lot of questions, one of which was where did his daughter learn how to fly? "Thanks." And Jim gets up and makes his way into the cockpit and works his body slowly into place without touching anything.

"Hi dad." Kate takes a quick look at him as he works at sitting down, before turning back to paying attention to what she was doing.

"KATIE!?" Jim stares at his daughter.

Kate turns her head and give him a quick smile before turning back to flying. "You probably have a few questions." Kate offers and wasn't really looking forward to some of them.

"If by a few you mean the first one hundred, then yeah, I have a few questions. … Like where did you learn how to fly a plane?" Jim starts with the obvious one. Not knowing just how complex that question really was.

"Yeah, that's a little complicated. Probably best if we wait for some answers after we land." Kate would prefer some solid ground to stand on when Jim and Martha went ballistic on them.

"You're going to land the plane too?" Jim was shocked and impressed, just mostly shocked.

"Oh heavens no, for that we need Alexis. I only know how to keep it level and on course. It is kinda fun actually. … I understand now what Alexis sees in it." Kate was wrong, but didn't know that. Alexis saw it as freedom while Kate sees it as having control.

"Rick said you two had only known each other for 2 weeks." Jim states, not seeing how Kate could get enough flying lessons from his daughter in short period of time. And why are they all in this plane anyway?

2 Weeks, huh? Kate thought to herself. Well from her father's point of view that was probably true. "That's kinda part of the long story." Kate knew they were going to try and need to explain it all to her father and Rick's mother. They knew that when they decided to bring them with them this time. Besides this was a first and maybe something would change because of it.

Lord knows something had to stop this from repeating yet again. They all wanted their lives back.

"You seem happy around him Katie." Jim could see Katie glowing. Even now she was smiling and all she was doing was flying a plane. Prior to this she always looked so serious and not overly happy.

Kate took a quick peek at her father and thought about herself and found that even at the moment she was smiling. Something Kate knew she didn't do much of.

Lanie had called her out for her fake smile. Now her heart was light and she was happy. "Yeah he makes me happy dad. … They both do. Alexis is an amazing young woman. Just what every parent dreams of having." Kate could feel her heart grow just a little bigger.

It had her smiling wide suddenly as she thought of the animated Grinch movie. They even had that Jim Carrey version in the DVD cabinet along with a couple of other Christmas movies. They had watched almost every movie in the cabinet over the years.

Jim watched Kate start to glow even brighter with that comment. There was something going on here, and he couldn't wait to find out about it. Somehow his daughter had come back to life and he wanted to know how that had happened.

"Who is she Richard?" Martha asks looking at both her son and granddaughter.

"Her name is Kate Beckett grams, and she's amazing." Alexis loved her and couldn't help having that shine through.

"Kate is a homicide detective that has accepted a position as the captain of a precinct. An entire police station." Rick adds.

Martha swallowed this information and noticed that the two of them seemed to be happy. This cop must really be something. At least she wasn't anything like Meredith or Gina, so Martha was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. … For now.

"And you met her at a coffee shop." Martha had overheard what her son had told Jim.

"Just up the street from her precinct." Rick nods his head.

"And she's flying this plane." Martha didn't think these two would let her if they weren't sure she could handle it. But where did a cop learn how to fly.

"I've taught her what she needs to know grams. Kate is fine till we reach the island." Alexis was sure, since Kate had been flying for some time now.

"Two weeks of you teaching her how to fly?" Martha questions.

"Yeah, about that. We have something we need to explain when we land." Rick tells her.

Martha just stared at the two of them.

"So what do we do at this, .. island of yours?" Martha asks.

"We live mother. … We live mother, live to solve a riddle." Rick tells her.

"And this, … Katherine is part of this riddle?" Martha asks.

"Yes mother, a very big part. A very big part." Rick knew they would never solve it without her.

**It is now 3 hours later:**

Martha and Jim had essentially remained quiet for most of the flight, leaving the big questions until they were on the ground.

"Can you go get Alexis dad, we've arrived." Kate asks of her father.

Jim took care getting out of his seat, scared that he was going to touch something he shouldn't.

"Katie says that we are here." Jim enters the cabin and takes his seat that he had left.

That got Alexis up and into the cockpit. Alexis put on the headseat out of habit. "How was your father?" Alexis asks.

"Full of questions, … how was your grandmother?" Kate asks back.

"Full of questions. … Check list." Alexis asks of Kate.

"Fuel selector, … Directional gyro, …. Shoulder harness, …. Mixture, …. Cowl flaps, …. Landing gear, …. Propelller, …. Flaps." Kate reads off the list.

"Wind flag?" Kate teases.

Alexis smiles. "Already looked, a little bit of a cross wind head on, wind speed looks a little above 10. More than enough, I think with an occasional gust up to 20. Haven't done this yet with a full load like we have this trip." Alexis admits.

"Here we go." Alexis informs Kate. And Kate watches as Alexis comes in really shallow, just like all the other times. It always made Kate think that they were going to land on the water, or at the very least, the wheels were getting wet.

Just after Kate felt the wheels hit ground she reached and pulled two levers back and shoved two more far forward and helped Alexis with the brakes.

Kate watched as the came to the end of the runway and turned around and went part way back and then parked as Alexis shut everything down. "Few more of these and you'll be able to land here too." Alexis offers up.

"Thanks, but between you and me, I'd just as soon have you do it and I'm kinda hoping we don't do this again." Kate didn't want to think about the upcoming nine months resetting so they could do it all over again.

"I hear that." Alexis adds her wish.

Kate and Alexis get out of their seats and enter the seating area to see Rick handing Alexis a small case while he opens his.

"You two stay here dad, we need to clear the island." Kate tells him and Martha.

Jim and Martha watch as Rick, Kate and Alexis pull out weapons and prep them. "We'll be back in a couple of hours. DO NOT leave the plane." Kate tells them.

They had never been here a day early. All the other times the islands were empty. They were pretty sure they would be this time too, just that they had always checked it just to be sure.

This time Kate was more secure in allowing them to split up and search it faster.

"Weapons?" Jim asks looking at Martha after they were gone and had closed the plane.

"I don't know. I've never seen Alexis carry a weapon before." Martha didn't even know she had ever had one in her hand before.

"If this is a vacation spot why are they searching it with weapons?" Jim asks, not expecting an answer from Martha.

Kate, Rick and Alexis end up meeting just outside the house. "Clear." They tell each other.

"We ready for this?" Kate asks looking at both of them.

"We need to unload the plane so might as well get the trailer now and plug in the golf cart." Rick offers since they all know that the golf cart has sat too long unused so the battery needs charging. "Then we can make lunch and answer their questions."

"Just are they going to believe us?" Kate answers.

"They will in a couple of days when we talk with Espo and Andy and Robert and the others." Alexis offers.

That had Kate and Rick agreeing. They might not believe them now, but they will as they listen in.

They were soon back to the plane except for Alexis who was spending her time opening the house. Turning on the power, solar hot water system and getting the water running for a minute to clear out any air bubbles.

Jim helped Kate and Rick unload the plane while Martha just watched quietly until they started pulling out the cases of wine. "Oh Richard, thank you." Martha was happy now. This stay was suddenly looking up.

Jim couldn't help but notice it was mostly canned vegetables and coffee along with a few other things, he didn't know anything about. Three long hard sided cases and five duffel bags.

Jim also helped put everything away into the pantry. "WOW, we expecting to feed an army?" Jim looked around as he placed the cases of canned vegetables on the floor since there was no where else to place them.

He also noticed that the freezer's were empty save for what was in the coolers they they had brought with them.

"I'll let Kate and Alexis take you two for a tour while I fix lunch." Rick offers while exiting the house to go pick the fruit and look in the greenhouse.

"Dad, Martha, bring your bags and we'll find you a bedroom. You're going to want to change since it will get warm and then hot here." Kate offers.

Martha ended up taking the room Kate had started out in while Jim took the spare bedroom next to the master bedroom.

They got to see the living room, open dining room and open kitchen. Then upstairs to the roof deck to see the solar panels and look out over the parapet walls to see the windmills, battery storage, storage room, back patio and the area that the fruit trees and nut trees took up, along with the dock where the 3 boats were located.

They would fill the planes fuel tanks tomorrow and move cold drinks up from the store.

"We hunt for pigs, and go fishing to get fish, and after enough of the chickens lay eggs that hatch we can have chicken. Those are our only meat sources. Fruit is from the fruit trees and the vegetables are from the greenhouse. Though we brought two more small ones to expand that." Alexis explains.

"Just how long are you thinking that we will be here?" Jim asks being very curious.

"How about lunch first." Kate brightens up and smiles and heads back downstairs.

Kate made it to the kitchen before the others had made it down. "We are so dead babe." Kate sits at the counter and places her elbows on the counter and her head in her hands.

It had Rick smiling since Kate was only expressing what he was feeling. "We're the only ones with guns so they can't shoot us." Rick points out.

"And what do we do when those two idiots show up?" Kate knew those two stupid kids would float in with weapons. They had shot them each and every time. The last few times Rick had been standing off to one side with his Thompson and had filled his own tent full of holes.

"So what's for lunch Richard?" Martha, Jim and Alexis had made it down.

"Marinated Papaya steaks and sliced fruit. … Freshly picked just minutes ago." Rick explains. Same thing they had EVERY time they came here on the first day.

Jim wasn't sure papaya steaks were exactly him, but it wasn't bad.

"Ok, as to why we are all here." Rick offers, taking a deep breath. "I'm sure you have both seen the news about there being a large rabies outbreak." Rick starts off.

"It's all over the news, they've shut down the airports and closed the ports and the border crossings into Mexico." Jim confirms.

"Right, just that what they're not telling you is that it isn't a rabies outbreak. Ok maybe at first it was, but it's changed since then. What is already working it's way up the east coast is a zombie epidemic." Rick tries to start to explain.

"Richard, really!" Martha isn't buying it and she knows her son.

"I'm afraid it's true Martha. Right now there is a wave of infected people working their way north from Miami while another wave is working it's way up through Mexico. As soon as it reaches the border with Mexico the military is going to drop nukes all across the border just as it reaches major cities like San Diego, Tucson and Brownsville amongst others." Kate tells her.

"You'll remember the military that was at the bridge? … Just after early morning tomorrow they are going to blow all the bridges into Manhattan turning Manhattan Island back into the island that it is. There will be no access in and out of Manhattan. Everyone inside Manhattan will be trapped. However that keeps them safe from the infection." Rick tries to explain.

Jim looks at Martha not sure he believes Rick.

"We know it sounds fantastic, and sometime tomorrow you can talk to Espo, one of the detectives that I work with at the precinct. Along with a few other people that you can talk with using the ham radio system you saw in the office area." Kate tells them.

"Richard, really. … Zombies?" Martha wasn't buying it. It was just another one of her sons, … she didn't have a word for it.

"They run around biting people that transfers the infection to an uninfected person and in 12 seconds you are gone and now one of these mindless zombie things. Effectively dead since there is no cure." Kate tells them.

Jim opens his mouth to say something only to close it again. Finally he opens it again. "And you know all about this how, since it sounds like it hasn't happened yet?"

"That's because the three of us have been re-living this event over and over again." Rick tells him.

Jim just stares at him. "I know what this sounds like dad, trust me I do. We've tried any number of things to try and stop from repeating the next 9 months over and over again.

It's why I know Rick and Alexis. It's why I know a little bit about flying a plane. I'm not nearly as good as Alexis is, but Alexis has taught me a lot. And the more times we do it, the more we remember from the last time." Kate tells him.

"Our first trip out here was just blind luck, lately we've started planning ahead. Bringing more supplies to account for what we were running out of or didn't have in the first place." Rick explains.

"And you expect us to stay way out here alone with you?" Jim questions, not sure he believes what they have told him.

"This is actually the first time we've brought you with us. All the other times I had Espo and Ryan come pick you up along with Martha and you spend the next 9 months living on the 4th floor of the precinct, sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor with about 300 other people. Give or take." Kate explains.

"I wouldn't!" Martha takes exception. Sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag just wasn't her.

"I'm afraid you do mother. We have some hope that bringing you two with us this time will break the cycle, since we've tried any number of other things." Rick is forced to admit.

"We've tried getting the CDC and WHO to listen to us since we know of something that would help, it's just that we're guessing the few people we know about to talk to end up infected.

The same for various TV stations in New York. Either they don't believe us or they end up infected and they all end up taking that knowledge with them." Kate was tired of living this again and again.

"Katie I love you and I would like to believe you, but zombies?" Jim wasn't onboard with all this yet.

"You don't really have to at the moment dad. Starting tomorrow or even tonight when the sun is going down you can listen to others using the ham radio and the satellite phones that we have." Kate tells him.

"And you're in on all this dear?" Martha looks at Alexis who had been quiet all this time.

"Mom and dad are telling the truth grams." Alexis tells her. Getting Martha to sit up straight and open her eyes wide.

"MOM!?" Jim questions.

"Ooops!" Alexis suddenly wanted to be anywhere but here. Kate had been mom for so long now she couldn't help it.


	10. Chapter 10

**CH10**

Just for clarification purposes. The main house is made up entirely of 10-inch structural cinder block, interior and exterior walls. However since piping and wiring can't go inside cinder block whose holes are filled in with concrete, all of the walls that have plumbing have a furred out wall made of 2x4 wood studs with sheet rock on one side. All of the other walls are furred out using 2x4 studs with drywall also. For interior walls this means both sides. Since wood is not suppose to come into contact with concrete there is a 1-inch air gap between them.

This is part of what you do to have a home that can survive a hurricane. It also helps lower insurance costs.

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"Yeah, about that." Keep it together Kate, he's just your dad. "Like we said we've been doing this a number of times and Alexis has become my daughter in my eyes and Rick is my, … boyfriend." Kate knew she was never going to hear the end of this. Rick was going to jump all over that.

They had never had to explain themselves to anyone before, so they hadn't been forced to label what they have. So boyfriend girlfriend was as good a one to use as any.

"Mom is, … Kate is the only adult woman in my life that I could call mom. My real mother has never been much of a mother and Kate is everything that she isn't." Alexis explains.

"I never knew you hated Meredith that much dear." Martha speaks up.

"She's, … just not my mother to me. Kate cares for me and loves me. She's even fought to protect me. And she helps when I'm sad and does what she can to make me happy." Alexis shrugs her shoulders. Kate simply did everything Alexis thought a mother was supposed to do. Everything Meredith didn't.

"Meredith?" Jim asks.

"My first wife." Rick answers. "It's a long story, basically I caught her cheating on me and Meredith filed for divorce. Meredith got the house and money and I got Alexis, which was one of the better deals I've ever had." Rick moved over to Alexis to kiss her head.

"First wife?" Jim wasn't liking the sound of this guy and his daughter was involved with him.

"It's not what it sounds like dad." Kate really didn't want to have to do this in front of everyone, and hurt Alexis. "Come with me dad." And Kate takes his hand and lifts him up off of the sofa and out the back patio door.

"So you and Katherine." Martha can now question her son and granddaughter.

"Yes mother, me and Kate. … We're in love with each other and she isn't anything like Meredith or Gina. Kate doesn't care that I have money and actually cares about Alexis unlike any other woman ever has. Kate is just the type of woman I've been looking for without actually knowing it." Rick knew she was making him better. His days of page 6 had already been over before he met her, but having Kate he knew he was never going to be thought of like that again.

In fact he had every intention of taking care of that during this event.

Jim and Kate were soon back inside and from Rick's point of view Jim looked a lot more happy. It did however get Rick to look at Kate. "I'll tell you later babe." Kate whispers to him.

"Oh, there is one thing we need to do for you two unless you brought one. It gets warm here and while the A/C is on now, we turn off the two in this room and turn on the one's in the bedroom and you'll find that it gets to warm outside to dress in anything but a swimsuit. And not to worry we have lots of sunscreen for everyone. So if you two didn't bring one we need to take you down to the store to get you one of more." Rick tells Jim and Martha.

"Grams only has just the one." Alexis speaks up since she packed for Martha.

"I don't have one, just shorts and t-shirts." Jim offers up.

"I'll let Kate take you down to the store to find 2 or 3 suits to wear. As to wearing a t-shirt, that's up to you. Personally I don't." Rick tells him and it had Kate smiling since she loved seeing him bare chested. And Kate had a surprise for him this trip. She had bought 3 new bikini's Rick had never seen her in before along with a couple of new wraps.

Rick headed for the master bedroom to change and Alexis got Martha up so she could change while Kate grabbed the keys and took her father down to the store.

"Find at least 2 if not 3 that are in your size dad and the flip flops are over there." Kate tells him and walks over to the flip flops and grabs 2 pairs for Martha to try since she had brought her own as usual.

Kate had her items sitting on the counter and waited for her father. When he finally had his on the counter. "Cash or charge sir?" Kate asked him, and was instantly laughing after seeing the look on his face.

"Sorry dad, Alexis pulled that on me my first few times here, so I couldn't resist. Come on, it's already getting hot outside and in here." Kate tells him since the building was closed except for the coolers being the only thing working.

Kate locked the door and pulled down the hurricane shutter and locked it in place. "What are those." Jim points at what Kate just pulled down. "Hurricane shutters. If history holds we will have 3 pass us by while we are here. And we need them, especially the first one in a few days. The cistern under the house is kinda low at the moment. Rainwater supplies all our water.

It's really big. We only really need a couple of good rain storms. This first one will fill it from almost dry to overflowing." Kate explains as they walk back to the house.

Kate stepped inside and found Rick in one of his swim trunks looking through the DVD cabinet and it had her smiling. Kate was soon back out of their room wearing one of her new bikini's and a new wrap and soon had Rick's undivided attention.

Kate spun in place. "Like it?" Kate was smiling.

Rick stepped up to her and took Kate in his arms while she did the same to him. "I look forward to taking it right back off you tonight." Rick nuzzled in so he could start kissing Kate's neck with Kate tilting her head to allow him access.

"Sorry!" Jim quickly turned to look a different direction after stepping into the main room.

That got Kate and Rick to jump apart. They were going to have to get used to having Jim and Martha around. Alexis didn't have a problem anymore about witnessing the two of them kissing each other.

"Sorry dad, we'll try and keep in PG rated." Kate tells him. "I'll find Alexis, we need to move some of the cold drinks up from the store." Kate tells them and give Rick a quick kiss and goes in search of Alexis and pick up the quad with the trailer while the golf cart charges.

"Do we need to have the 'what are your intentions?' speech?" Jim asks looking at Rick after Kate and Alexis were gone.

"No sir, my intentions are completely honorable and I have 9 months to prove it to you." Rick tells him.

"If your story is accurate I probably have you two to thank for Kate being so happy." Jim offers.

"Kate is an amazing woman, you and your wife have done a good job of raising her to be the woman she is now." Rick tells him putting the DVD in the player.

"I'm not sure I can take much credit for that." Jim knew he had let his daughter down when his wife died.

Rick wanted to say something, it's just that they had already dropped a bomb on him and his mother. Adding another one about him knowing all about his trip with a whiskey bottle didn't sound right, so he kept his mouth closed.

"The early years is when a child's personality is formed, and you and your wife had everything to do with that." Rick points out.

Jim was however finding that he was learning to like him. His daughter obviously did. "I don't know too many young women that can fly a plane." Jim points out.

"That was all Alexis's doing. I was going to hire a pilot and she took it upon herself to learn. I may have paid for the lessons, but I had nothing to do with it. Alexis can accomplish pretty much anything when she puts her mind to, and I can't, just isn't in her vocabulary." Rick tells him, sounding proud of his little girl.

Jim could hear it in Rick's voice. Rick was a father, just how had Katie turned into mom?

Kate and Alexis had returned and were transferring the drinks into the refrigerator. "Where's grams?" Alexis asks as they finish.

"I haven't seen her." Rick tells her, getting Alexis to knock on her bedroom door and open it when no one answers.

"Alexis dear, I look terrible in this, … thing." Martha was standing in front of the mirror looking at herself in the only one piece swimsuit she owned that Alexis had found and packed for her.

"We have more down in the store grams plus it helps if you use a wrap." Alexis tells her and disappears into her bedroom going through the adjoining bathroom.

"Here use this and follow me down to the store. You're going to need more than one anyway grams." Alexis tells her.

"We're going down to the store." Alexis informs everyone when the emerge into the main room. And Alexis takes Martha down to the store using the quad since it seats two.

After the movie Rick went down to the cistern to measure how much water they had. "Same as always, we really need that storm that will show up in a few days." Rick informs them.

Dinner turned out to be more marinated papaya steaks and cut fruit. "Not to worry, tomorrow will be different." Rick tells them, since tomorrow was going to be a pig hunting day. Good thing about doing this so many times, Rick had gotten good a cutting up a pig. They now had pork chops to add to the others. The following day Rick and Kate would go out shark fishing.

"My poor arms!" Kate moans. It was one of the things about everything re-setting on them. They lost their tan and Kate lost her guns.

It did however get Kate a kiss from Rick. "And my hands and oil can fix all that." Rick kissed her again.

"What's wrong with your arms?" Jim asks stepping from the back patio where he had stepped out to, to have a quick peek. Now he was seeing Kate in Rick's arms, likely having just finished kissing, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Castle will go out hunting for a pig tomorrow morning allowing us to have baby back ribs, pork shoulder, bacon and pork chops. The following day we go shark hunting so that we can fill the freezers with meat." Kate explains not leaving Rick's arms.

"I saw the smoker out back, smoked pork sounds nice. So does going fishing." Jim was all for fishing.

"This is deep sea fishing dad. Though we will go fishing for catfish eventually." Kate comments.

"There's nothing to say that you two can't go fishing together tomorrow while I'm out pig hunting." Rick offers.

Kate perked up instantly. "We can can't we." Kate wasn't used to having her dad around. "Want to go fishing with me tomorrow dad? … You'll get to see Flash." Kate was grinning.

Jim saw the look on Kate's face and the fact that Rick was shaking his head. "Sounds, … nice." Jim was conflicted. It did however earn Rick a light punch in the chest.

"I'll go get the rods out of storage and put them on the boat along with the tackle box." Kate offers and goes out the back patio door.

Rick waited until the door was closed. "Don't say I didn't warn you. … Flash has 3 outboards aft. She's capable of 70 plus, and trust me Kate knows how to get up to those speeds. Just remember to take a fresh pair of shorts with you." Rick warns him and starts chuckling at the look on Jim's face.

Just as the sun was going down Rick led everyone into the office, which made things crowded since it wasn't all that big, and turned on the radio and started calling for Robert in England. Problem was Robert didn't know who they were so Rick had to play dumb.

What Jim and Martha learned was that England was locked up tight already. There were still a few boats under power that were making their way across the channel. Each was intercepted by the navy and searched from bow to stern, before being allowed to get close.

Robert had only been talking to his contact in the navy for just the one day so far. He did know however that Europe was devastated by what was presently being called a disease. A very fast acting one.

He knew that there were roughly two different varieties of the same disease. At first it had taken hours if not days allowing it to travel by plane. However it had mutated into something fast acting.

Rick had signed off. "Maybe that explains why our warning to the CDC and WHO didn't work." Rick offers.

"We told them how to use the invisibility for the mutated version that didn't work on the original version." Kate finishes his thought for him.

"Even the navy when we told them couldn't do anything about it." Rick keeps going.

"But it's the mutated version now, right. So who do we tell?" Kate asks.

"Our contact is still limited. Robert hasn't created a trusting relationship with his navy contact yet. We don't even know if we can talk to Andy in Alaska this early." Rick thinks ahead.

"We need him to talk to someone in Japan, and we didn't get in contact with anyone in the Midwest until months from now." Kate went down their list of people.

"There's your friends in the 12th using our satellite phones." Rick offers.

"Who in turn have limited contact with anyone outside of Manhattan thanks to the infection. And in just a couple of days they are going to nuke Boston, Philadelphia and DC to try and stop the spread.

Likely everything south of that is already gone." Kate points out.

"Taking out the CDC." Rick surmises.

"You two know what is wrong and how to stop it?" Jim looks at the two of them.

"We do now, only because of how many times we've done this dad. Earlier we had no idea since we forgot what we learned the previous time.

At first all of this felt like **Déjà vu. **Things felt familiar but we just couldn't place it. Now that we've done it so many times we understand what is happening." Kate tells him.

"How many times?" Jim was curious while afraid of the answer since it looked like this was real.

"We stopped counting somewhere around 20." Kate tells him.

Jim tried to work that out in his head. "You've spent the last 15 years doing this?" Jim's mouth fell open along with Martha's.

"It's why I love them dad. These two are my family. … Alexis has become my daughter and I love her. It's why she calls me mom. … And Rick, is, ..." Kate didn't know what to call him. Boyfriend was so weak sounding for what he meant to her. Rick had never proposed during any of those nine months so he wasn't her **fiancé**. They obviously couldn't get married so he wasn't her husband.

Rick had wanted to wait but he could see the look on Kate's face. "Hold that thought." Rick got up and ran for their bedroom and his bag, and was quickly back.

"Katherine Houghton Beckett, since I met you at that coffee shop you've made my life extraordinary. Now I can't imagine my life without you in it. I had planned on making this some grand gesture after our parents could see how much we love each other. However I can't take seeing the hurt in your face, ... so." Rick gets down on one knee and offers up his little black box to a Kate Beckett who had tears running down her face with her hands over her mouth.

"Would you do me the honor of being my wife? … We can figure out how to get married when we stop repeating this, … event." Rick uses his free hand to open the box.

3.60ct Natural Untreated Burmese Ruby Platinum Ring with 1.44cts of Round Brilliant Diamonds.

Kate could only manage to whisper out a yes that she feared only she could hear so she began nodding her head and wrap her arms around Rick's neck and kiss him soundly after Rick stood up. And then watched Rick slide the ring onto her finger.

The tears were still flowing when she kissed him again. Kate broke from the kiss to smile a brilliant wide smile at Rick and heard Alexis say "YES!" And pump her fist. Which got Kate to open up and invite her into their group hug.

"This event has to end mom, it has to." Alexis wanted her life back just as badly.

The three of them heard a sniffle and turned to see Martha had tears. "It was gorgeous." Martha tells them. "Let's see it." And Martha took Kate's hand. "It's unusual and, … big."

"Kate is unusual since there isn't anyone else like her, so she deserves something special and unique." Rick defends his choice of ring styles.

"It's gorgeous Rick." Kate looked at it as Martha looked at it. "He's my **fiancé** dad." Kate answers his question.

It was fast for Jim since he didn't even know Kate was involved with Rick and now she's engaged. It got Jim to open his mouth to say something, only to close it and think this through.

"Do you love him Katie?" It was his one and only prayer.

"With all my heart dad. … With all my heart." Kate answers his question and not letting go of Rick.

They discussed what was going to happen tomorrow and when and watched Matha and Jim excuse themselves and go to their room for the night.

Kate was sitting wrapped up in Rick's arms while holding her hand where she could see her new ring. It felt weird having something on that finger. It had gone empty for so long and she had consigned herself to leaving it that way.

"Happy?" Rick asks taking Kate's left hand in his so he could look at the ring on her finger with her.

"Very. … I had convinced myself that there wasn't going to be anyone in my life and it allowed me to move up from officer to detective and now captain of my own precinct. … If I could just get there." Kate really was tired of doing this.

"You'll be there Kate, you'll be there. We've ruled out a lot of things and we've even figured out who likely had your mother killed." Rick offers.

"With no proof babe. We're basically guessing. We've got nothing any prosecutor can use and get a conviction." Kate points out.

"We need that one domino as dad puts it. Just who is that domino and how do we reach him?" Alexis questions. Who had been sitting in a side chair just watching them.

"We know it was three cops, not one cop, one commissioner and one prosecutor." Rick needed to fix that portion of his book.

"We know that Montgomery is involved, just now how exactly. But enough that he is being paid enough to buy dads house in the Hamptons for his silence." Alexis points out.

"Your CIA guy managed to get into that Cayman account to find out who owns it. Just that there is nothing illegal in any of this." Kate points out.

"He's dirty Kate. He's got blood all over his hands, even IF he isn't the one who did the killing. … We're convinced he's getting the money from drugs now. It's the one answer that makes sense. Why he doesn't have to be beholding to any PAC's or anyone else." Rick points out.

"Without an ounce of proof that will stand up in court." Kate points out.

"We need that domino. He likely knows." Rick tries to get Kate to see.

"Fine I'll talk with Espo and have him dig while Roy is trapped in the precinct with no access to him." Kate relents, finally.

"He's locked himself away Kate. He's hiding out like all the other Senators.

**Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, **it's only 61 miles or about an hour by car from DC. Even less since they are using helicopters to get there." Rick points out.

"He has surrounded himself with people that he can't afford to have find out what he is doing. Plus his military killers are either infected, going to be infected or trapped just like we are. Except we have access to a domino." Rick points out.


	11. Chapter 11

**CH11**

Kate woke up the next morning pretty much like she had been for what felt like years to them, even if they never did get any older. Kate had her head tucked into Rick's shoulder who had his arm around her holding her in place, while she had her free hand on his chest directly over his heart. It allowed her to feel his heartbeat. It told her that the love of her life was alive and she was in his arms.

Kate moved her hand over his heart a little which told Rick that she was awake. "Good morning my love." Rick dips his chin down so he can look down on her.

"Hi." Kate snuggled into a better location. "You didn't have to do that." Kate points out.

"Yes I did. … I saw that look on your face as you were trying to explain me to your father. In real life we would have been married years ago. Instead we are stuck, and I love you far too much to let you question what we mean to each other." Rick explains.

"Married huh? … You think I would have said yes long ago do you?" Kate couldn't help but tease him, it was just in her nature. Besides she already knew the answer.

"Face it you can't resist me." Rick teases back, except it earned him a pinch to his chest. "OWE! … Evil woman."

It had Kate smiling. "I didn't get you a ring." Kate suddenly felt bad about that.

"You'll think of something. You're brilliant and resourceful." Rick knew Kate would come up with something, and even if she didn't he didn't care.

"Big day today." Kate points out changing the subject.

"Pig hunting, fishing and calling Espo." Rick runs down the big items on their list.

"Shower with me? … Strictly in the interest of saving water of course." Rick offers.

"Only if you are willing to share other things." Kate smiled while she doodled on Rick's chest with one of her fingers.

"Good thing my mother taught me to share when I was young then." Rick offered getting Kate to smile.

After their shower and a little fun, Kate was slipping on her flip flops while Rick turned off the A/C unit in their bedroom. "Is that new?" Rick had noticed Kate wearing something.

"Like it?" Kate twirled in place to give him a view from all sides.

"I'll like it later when I take it back off of you tonight." Rick offered, which got Kate smiling again, since that was precisely what she wanted him to do.

They found that they were the first ones out in the main room. "I'll get the eggs and let the chickens loose." Kate tells him.

"You're going to let them out?" Rick calls from the kitchen.

"That's why they call them free range chickens babe. You're not the only one who does research." Kate smiles. Kate also throws out some chicken feed since what was in their coop was almost gone as usual.

Since no one came for the eggs in a while, there were a lot, so Kate only took what they needed and left the rest to hatch. The sooner they had chicks, the sooner they could have chicken.

Kate also stopped at the greenhouse to collect some green onions.

Rick was working on his second omelet when Alexis showed up. "Hi mom and dad." Alexis came in and turned on the main rooms two A/C units.

"Want one Alexis." Rick asks.

"Yes please. … Grams is in the shower. I knocked and told Jim he could use the shower in the master bedroom." Alexis tells them.

"Something we're going to have to get used to, with only two bathrooms." Kate points out.

"The jack and jill bathroom has outside access from the hallway." Rick reminds her.

The three of them had just finished eating and Rick was loading the dishwasher when Jim and Martha showed up. "Omelet's?" Rick asks of them.

"What are our options?" Jim asks.

"For this morning, that's about it. …. Milk is powdered or condensed, no bacon until I come back with a pig and butcher it and no bread until we make it ourselves." Rick was forced to admit.

"Omelet it is then." Jim resigns himself. "Can you actually scramble them with a little onion and have salt and pepper?"

"Of course." Rick places the salt and pepper grinders on the breakfast bar.

Everyone was done eating and cleaned up. Alexis had slipped into their rooms to turn off the A/C units while they ate.

"Time to go pig hunting." Rick announces. "Wish the big game hunter luck?" Rick kissed Kate's cheek.

"It's a pig Castle. … And a domestic pig running around lose at that." Kate talks while looking at her dad.

"You wound me Beckett." Rick feigned being hurt.

"Just don't shoot yourself with that thing Castle." Kate counters.

"Does Rick not know how to shoot?" Jim asks after Rick was gone.

"Actually dad is an excellent shot. Kate has made sure that we all know how to shoot." Alexis offers.

"Which reminds me, we have work to do." Kate looks over at the pile of bags and the three large hard sided cases. Kate knew loading six 100 round drums for the two Tommy guns was going to take a little time. "We get this done and we can go fishing."

Kate now had incentive to get loading all of the clips done fast, since it meant going out in Flash.

"KATIE!?" Jim didn't know what was in the cases, but saw a Tommy gun come out of the first one.

"We may be isolated out here dad, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way." Kate is forced to tell him, especially since she knows that those two idiots will show up eventually.

Just that they couldn't let their guard down even if those two were all that showed up after all this time. Things might change.

Kate put one Tommy gun along with three 100 round drums in the kitchen while the other one went out in the storage building.

The sniper rifle went up on the roof. Kate put her service weapon and its clips in the master bedroom. Rick's SIG and five spare clips went inside the DVD cabinet while Alexis's SIG and 5 spare clips went in one of the kitchen drawers.

They would move the shotgun out to the store later when they had time.

"Ready to go fishing dad?" Kate was smiling as she fished the keys out of the drawer in the kitchen.

"Now you're talking my language." Jim smiled since he hadn't been fishing with his daughter in years.

"Why is Kate smiling so wide? It's just fishing." Martha asks after they are gone.

"Because Kate's idea of fishing likely isn't Jim's idea of fishing." Alexis was smiling wide, wishing she could see the look on Jim's face. "Help me with the bread machines grams?" Alexis asks.

Jim was in a seat sitting next to Kate as she piloted the boat, with pilot being a good word to be using, since Kate had the boat almost literally flying.

Jim also now understood what Rick meant by bringing a spare pair of shorts. Jim also had no idea where they were going.

To Jim it felt like hours later when actually it was only minutes and Kate had pulled up to some shallows and they had their poles over the side of the boat.

Finally! Time for some fishing. It's just that Kate was soon giving Jim a lesson in fishing. They needed five this trip instead of three and Kate had already caught three of them while Jim hadn't even gotten a nibble.

Still Jim was nothing if not a fisherman and started watching what Kate was doing and soon found himself with the last two.

"You should see what Rick can do with these dad. He is really good." Kate was looking forward to the taste of catfish.

Alexis and Martha had the two bread machines working off in one corner and now Martha was helping Alexis pull out a pair of vacuum sealers. "What are these for dear?" Martha helped Alexis arrange them on the counter.

"We're going to eat the fish they come back with tonight, while most of the pig dad is out hunting, is going to go in the freezer. Using this device will help cut down on freezer burn." Alexis explains.

Jim had the cooler that had their fish in hand and was standing on the dock watching his daughter tie off the boat and curl up the excess rope into a nice tight swirl. (Where did she learn to do that?)

"You actually have done this a few times, haven't you?" Jim comments just as Kate finishes the last of it.

"More than you could ever guess dad, more than you could ever guess." Kate wanted this to end and it leaked out in how she sounded. "We still have to call Espo this morning. The bridges should be blown by now leaving them isolated in Manhattan."

Rick was bringing the last of the pig inside to Alexis to put in the freezer or refrigerator for later as Jim and Kate came walking up the walkway.

Kate and Alexis started preparing the fish for later while Jim went off the bathroom to wash up. He found Rick standing outside. "How was fishing?" Rick asks him, smiling.

"Eye opening." Jim smiles back. "I know Katie is a serious person now after her mother." Jim assumes that Rick knows about Johanna. "However I also saw some of her wild child teenage years in that fishing trip."

"I never really thought of how she pilots the Flash as being a part of her teenage years. I'm just happy to see her having fun. To see that smile that threatens the break her face. The thrill of hearing her yell because she is so happy. … That's what makes my heart soar for her. It makes me double my efforts to make that smile permanent." Rick offers what he feels for Kate.

"Katie said something about a phone call." Jim offered since he wanted off the conversation, so he could process what Rick had told him. IF they were both right, he was going to have the next nine months to learn all about Rick and what his daughter sees in him.

"Right after I take a shower, since I'm pretty sure I stink after being outside, going through brush and fruit trees. The pigs love the fruit and nuts that fall from the trees. It makes them easy to find, just not necessarily easy to kill and get into the trailer on the back of the quad, followed by using saws and knives to get the pieces we want and turn the rest into pulled pork sandwiches." Rick tells him and heads for the master bedroom and the on-suit bathroom.

Kate was placing the baby back ribs and pork shoulders into the refrigerator for later this week, while Alexis was using the vacuum system on the last of the pig just as a clean and fresh smelling Rick joined them all in the main room.

"Ready to call Espo?" Rick lightly shakes his cell phone that had a piggy back satellite phone system attached to the back of it.

Thuraya SatSleeve for iPhone and iPhone 5s can transform your iPhone into a satellite smartphone.

Kate took the phone and dialed the satellite phone that she had left locked in her desk.

"Hello?" Kate recognized Espo's voice instantly.

"Hi Espo, I'm glad you found it." Kate tells him, since the only way Espo had the satellite phone was if Lanie had opened her envelope and found the key to her desk and given the phone to Espo.

"Kate, what's going on?" Lanie called out over the phone allowing everyone to hear her since Kate had her phone on speaker.

"Tell me what you know Espo and don't leave anything out." Kate asks of him.

"They've blown all access in and out of Manhattan, the military has turned us into an island. We're being told that there is some kind of virus that is spreading fast. The precinct has gone nuts Beckett." Espo tells her.

"Do you have your envelope?" Kate asks him. Kate can almost instantly hear paper ruffling.

"Yeah, we each have one. It looks like a list of some kind." Espo tells her.

"I need you to go get everything on that list Espo. Do what Captain Montgomery tells you, but I really need to you go get everything that is on that list. Everything Espo, each and every item." Kate tries to make it plain.

Kate couldn't see Espo looking at Ryan. "We got it. … What's with this other page?" Espo had read it to.

"That's one more thing I need you two to work on for me. Go back to where you found the phone and pull out the flash drive and go give it to Tori. She'll know what to do. … And Espo, it is critical that you tell Montgomery nothing about this. If you three want to keep living, you can't let Montgomery know what you are doing." Kate knew Espo wasn't going to like this part.

"Beckett, he's our boss." Espo points out. Beckett was in charge of the overall floor and was going to take Montgomery's place as captain, but she hadn't done that yet.

"Read those pages Espo and get that drive to Tori. After you have gotten everything on that list and talked with Tori you can use that phone to call this number. It's already per-programmed with every number you will need." Kate tells him.

Espo had done a little reading of all the papers , same as Ryan. "This is serious stuff Beckett." Espo states the obvious.

"Life and death Espo. … You guys and mine. Be very careful Espo, very, very careful." Kate warns him.

Kate ended the call and let her friends think it over and start working on what they needed to.

"We would have been trapped there if we had stayed." Jim points out.

"You and Martha would be sleeping on a sleeping bag on the floor in the precinct after I asked Espo and Ryan to go get you. Otherwise you would have been on your own dad. Now you're here instead of there." Kate tells both of them.

Espo looked at his list. "We're going to need some help." Espo points out. "You grab Karpowski while I get LT. You take the food trucks while I get the home heating oil trucks." Espo tells Ryan.

"What about me?" Lanie asks, since Kate was her friend too.

"Find that flash drive and get it to Tori." Espo tells her.

It took some time, but Ryan had all four of the food trucks parked in the parking garage along with their owners. They were each tall and had only just barely scrapped the roof edge as they entered.

Espo in turn had all three fuel oil trucks that required them to be driven in with flat tires in order to clear the entrance.

"Now what?" Ryan asks and watched Espo pull out his list. However Lanie showed up in that moment.

"Montgomery has split the precinct into teams. He's after weapons, sleeping bags and camping equipment, freezers and refrigerators along with lots and lots of food. Even small kitchen appliances." Lanie tells them.

"Food, food. … Kate has an entire list of places to get food from. Give Lanie your list. Lanie take the restaurants on that list to Montgomery and have him empty them.

You two go get the generators, starting with the three at the construction sites and move on to the Honda generators. LT and I will go get the gasoline tankers. Then we can go get this Sta-bil stuff." Espo tells them and they each split up.

By the end of the day Espo, Ryan, Karpowski and LT, along with everyone else in the precinct were dead tired and barely still on their feet. Even with that Montgomery didn't close the doors and had created a rotating shift to man the front doors that were still open, but barricaded and manned. All the other doors had been sealed closed as best they could.

Everything on Kate's list along with everything that Montgomery had thought up was in the precinct. Tomorrow was going to be another long day as they started pulling in civilians to live inside the precinct with them.

Espo had even called the 54th and told them to do what Kate had left them in her papers. Turned out the 54th had already considered doing just that. Just that instead of doing it later, they had done it all today. Including doing what the 12th had spent the day doing. Just that instead of tankers of gasoline, they went out and got tankers of diesel that were on Kate's list.

"How did Beckett know?" Espo asks as he and Ryan were downstairs with Lanie.

"Kate handed me that envelope and forced me to promise to not open it until today." Lanie tells them.

"Jenny got something delivered this morning that told her to come into the precinct with me this morning from Beckett" Ryan points out. "Jenny and Sarah Grace would be outside of Manhattan if she hadn't come with me." Ryan adds.

"I heard the same from Evelyn." Espo adds.

"So how did Kate know?" Lanie asks the question again.

All three of them were interrupted when Tori showed up. "You should see this." Tori tells them and then disappears.

Ryan, Epso and Lanie are right behind her and step into her room and close the door with the blinds already pulled.

"I haven't gotten very far into this but I found something that you should see. … For my own personal reasons I took this first part in an effort to prove that he's not involved. Except it lead me to, ..." Tori stops since she knows she's not making sense.

"One of the things that's on this drive is that Captain Montgomery bought a guy named Richard Castle's summer home out in the Hamptons. When I saw the location I thought maybe he had bought a time share spot. …. You know, those places that you partially own the home but can only use it for certain months each year. Usually 2 or maybe 3 months.

It makes it easy to have access to a very expensive home at a fraction of the price. Except that's not what he did. Captain Montgomery bought it, paid for it basically using cash. Technically it was a wire transfer from a bank in the Caymans." Tori tries to explain.

"Ok so he bought a house and paid cash." Espo didn't get it.

"Oh it's a house alright, more like a mansion really. … This house to be precise." And Tori brings up a picture of the house that she found when Rick had put it up for sale.

It got Espo's and Lanie's mouth's to hang open while Ryan simply whistled.

"He paid $11.233 million for it." Tori tells them.

"And, in just one payment, with no mortgage." Tori tells them.

"Where did he get that kind of money?" Ryan asks. Ryan knew that he had taken a second job until Jenny was off maternity leave and could go back to work. Living in New York on a cop's salary with a wife and a new born baby was difficult. They needed that second salary just to get by, let alone save for the future. Theirs or their daughters.

"He didn't." Tori tells them and watches their mouths fall open again. "The money came from an account in the Caymans. Normally that would make it untraceable unless you could find someone to hack their system. However we had the Feds come in and take over a case about a year ago and they had to gain access to the banking system. These same Feds were stupid enough to leave the password out in the open." Technically Tori had watched the Fed guy input the code and she had memorized it. Not that these three needed to know that. Besides Tori thought the Fed guy was an arrogant asshole, simply because he was a Fed and she worked for the lowly NYPD.

"The money was transferred from an account that is owned by this guy." Tori tells them and pulls up his name and picture.

William H. Bracken

"It also allowed me to see the account balance that was in that account. The same account that Montgomery got the money from to buy this, … mansion in the Hamptons. And Tori pulls up a screen shot that she took of the account, that showed the balance.

Lanie damn near fainted straight away. "No you made a mistake somewhere. Inserted the wrong number or something." Espo offered.

"Montgomery is dirty." Ryan stated what was staring them in the face.

That however got Ryan shoved up against the door by Espo who held him there. "Don't even think that bro, he's our Captain. He's done more for this precinct than any other. We have the highest closure rate of any precinct in the city." Espo growled at him. Just that the longer he talked the weaker his words sounded.

"Javi, you're a cop. We go by evidence not our personal feelings. We've got evidence staring us in the face. We can't just ignore it simply because it is inconvenient. You know as well as I do, we let the evidence speak." Ryan makes no attempt at getting Espo to let go of him.

Espo does however take his attention off Ryan and turns to look at the screen, Tori and Lanie. Espo lets go of Ryan and punches the door, HARD! Causing him to pull his hand back and hold it with his other hand and start cursing in Spanish.

"JAVI, language." Lanie chastises him and takes his hand to look at it.

"OWE!" Espo complains but doesn't pull his hand away.

"I don't think you broke anything, but we need to put some ice on that or tomorrow it's going to be worse." Lanie tells him and takes Espo downstairs to her domain.

Ryan closes the door. "Just keep looking at that drive." Ryan doesn't bother reminding Tori not to tell anyone else. Tori was too smart for that. "And make a copy of it and hide it somewhere."

Ryan exits the room and sees Montgomery talking with one of the teams that had gone out looking for stuff. Likely wanting to send them back out again tomorrow, let alone spend the night distributing everything amongst the floors.

What kind of shit had Kate found and now gotten them into, since Montgomery was their captain.


	12. Chapter 12

**CH12**

**It is now one month later: (June)**

Until it rained they couldn't afford to fill the pool or hot tub. In all the previous events it had rained right on schedule, however if they finally had done something to change things, events may happen differently this time, so they couldn't risk it.

Jim had seen Kate's idea of fishing, so when they decided to go out shark fishing, Jim had bowed out and let Rick and Kate handle it.

Jim watched them soak the shark pieces after Rick sliced them up into steaks. "Why are you soaking them?" Jim didn't understand.

"Sharks pee through their skin so you need to soak them for a while to make sure you get all the pee out." Alexis tells him, smiling as she sees the reaction Kate had given her the first few times.

Kate was laughing. "Relax dad, we've done this a few times. It's a little on the chewy side some times, but it tastes fine. … Not like smoked baby back ribs maybe, but it's nice." Kate was still smiling at the look on her dads face.

"Sit with me dear." Martha pats the sofa she was sitting on watching Alexis stare out the back patio door.

After Alexis sits down. "Tell me about Katherine dear. … Why is she mom?" Martha wanted to learn. This woman whom Martha had never heard of had her sons and granddaughters heart.

"Mom is absent and doesn't really care. She only really cares about herself and how people see her. Life is supposed to revolve around mom, like she was a queen of some country and people were supposed to let her do what she wanted.

I learned long ago that mom wasn't really interested in me, unless it was to her benefit in some manner. I know she doesn't hate me and maybe in there somewhere she actually loves me. Though most likely it wouldn't matter if it was me or some little girl off the street. Not me for being me.

Gina didn't care if I was alive. I'm not really sure what Gina wanted, I just know it didn't involve me.

Kate however cares about how I feel. What makes me happy. Who my friends are. What my plans for the future are. Kate has even slept with me, to hold me and make sure I wasn't sad." Alexis was tempted to say have nightmares after killing those two men time after time, and when they showed up again and Kate killed them yet again, Alexis knew that Kate would sleep in her room with her for the next few nights, just to make sure.

"Kate tells me that she loves me, she's even helped me plan for the future after we finally stop living these months over and over again. She's even fought off dad to get dad to accept what is best for me, not what he wants.

Kate is teaching me to be me. … And I love her for it, all of it." Alexis tries to explain. "In the beginning Kate was all business and didn't have an ounce of fun in her. Dancing in the rain, laughing at dads jokes, seeing the fun in just playing a board game as part of a family. Kate was a cop, all cop. It actually caused dad to be more of a child than normal, which only caused Kate to shut down even more. … Now she feels like a part of the family."

Martha hugged Alexis. "It sounds like you have found the perfect woman for you dear. … And what about Richard?"

That got Alexis to smile. "Kate has made dad grow up a little while dad has brought out some of the child that was hiding in Kate. They make each other happy. … Sometimes dad's child wears on Kate and Kate's seriousness wears on dad. However they make each other. It's like a piece of one completes the other." Alexis tries to explain.

Alexis chuckles. "It didn't use to be that way. The first few times we did this Kate didn't want to be a child again and dad didn't want to grow up. I think they've learned from each other after doing this time after time. They're both happy now and that makes me happy.

For the first time in a really long time, it feels like a family instead of just me and dad." Alexis wipes away the tears that escaped.

"It sounds like Katherine is just what both of you need, even if living this over and over again has cost you." Martha hugged Alexis and they just sat there quietly each lost in their thoughts until Rick, Kate and Jim came back inside.

Martha watched Kate walk in with a smile on her face and she could just tell that Kate had been laughing at something, even if she didn't know what. From what Alexis had told her this woman who had entered their lives was a gift. Just from who Martha didn't know. Being religious just wasn't her, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate that God may have had something to do with this.

They had completed their chores and the shark steaks would go on the grill tonight, along with some freshly picked fruit and a can of vegetables and some fresh homemade bread with butter, since they had a lot this time for a change.

Kate was searching the DVD cabinet for something she didn't think they had watched previously. "How about this." Kate offers up and shakes the DVD case. "MacKenna's Gold." Kate looked at everyone. "It says Omar Sharif and Gregory Peck. It has bandits and Indians." Kate supplies.

"Oooo, thank you for calling customer service." Rick tries his best Indian impersonation.

"Not those kind of Indians Jackass." Kate glares at him, something Jim has seen before but Martha hasn't.

"That's Mr. Jackass to you." Rick counters.

"Only because I love you." Kate kisses the air and takes the disc out of the case and loads the DVD player and turns on the TV.

Jim, Martha and Alexis took the sofa while Rick and Kate took the two side chairs while Kate had the remote and skipped all of the stupid previews for other movies that had been out for years.

The group has made it to the canyon that is lined with gold and not just veins of gold, but solid gold. "Now that is my kind of canyon." Rick mentions.

"And you probably want to move there." Kate teases.

"Can we?" Rick looked at Kate with a 'Please say yes' look in his face. Kate however just smiled and shook her head. Her child was in charge of Rick's body at the moment.

Kate watched the woman end up in the stream and come out covered in gold flakes. It was in her clothes and in her hair. "My kind of stream." Kate comments getting Rick to smile since Kate had obviously come over to his side finally.

Then they watched as the whole place started collapsing in on itself as the rode the horse up the switch backs sure that they wouldn't make it, however this was Hollywood, so of course they rode off into the sunset, not knowing that they were rich.

"So much for my new summer home." Rick moaned.

"You'll survive babe." Kate smiles at him as she retrieves the disk out of the player.

"I'll go turn on the grill." Rick offers and goes outside to the back patio while Kate moved into the kitchen to pull out the shark steaks and get them prepared for the grill.

"We need fruit." Alexis offered and went into the kitchen and pulled out her SIG and went out the back door leading to the patio.

That left Jim and Martha on the sofa. "Babe?" Jim questions mostly to himself.

"Jackass?" Martha comments. "They do look comfortable with each other." Martha points out.

Jim didn't say anything but inside he was agreeing, even while working with the shark steaks Katie looked happy.

Jim opened his eyes wide on his first bite of tiger shark. He was all set to hate it and spit it out and go find something else to eat. He thinks he remembers seeing a case in the pantry that said Campbell's Chili. Maybe there was some hot sauce and crackers somewhere.

Jim wasn't the first one finished, but it was close. Jim didn't realize just how hungry he was. Yeah, that was it, he blamed it on his growling stomach if anyone brought it up.

"That was amazingly good Richard, thank you." Martha speaks up.

"You're welcome mother." Rick responds while he picks up the empty plates and glasses and takes them into the house. "Coffee anyone?"

Rick got a 'yes please' from everyone except Alexis.

Rick was soon back carrying 4 cups, two in each hand. Kate immediately sipped hers and let out a heavy sigh and did her best to melt into her seat.

Rick had gotten up and turned on the tiny lights that were spread out all over the patio. They could just make out the sound of the wind mills spinning further out. "I'd forgotten what it looked like to be out of the city and look up at all the stars." Jim mentions.

"Part of the built-in attraction to staying here." Rick agreed.

"And you planned on this being a resort like place." Jim was still trying to understand.

"The idea is that there are people who are tired of being trapped in the city, any city. Loud noise, smog, worried about where to eat your next meal, worried about your job. Out here all that goes away.

No cell phone access, little to no electricity. You're living in tents, out in the sunshine or star filled night skies. It's up to you to decide if you want to go diving, snorkeling, swimming in the ocean. All your meals are served to you, made here in the house.

Maybe attend a Luau, that I had planned on having like 3 nights each week. Complete with dancers. Either you flew out here with Alexis as your pilot or you came using your own boat. Anchor out there somewhere if you chose to or use one of the docks where our boats are located.

Deep sea fishing or just simple fishing like you and Kate did, or go out on the Lady Martha just to cruise around and see the sights of the local area.

There is even a night movie that can be watched using an outdoor projection screen. Camp fires complete with marshmallows and smores. Maybe someone brings a guitar, tell stories, night time scavenger hunts complete with your own flashlight." Rick lists off most of the big items that he had planned.

"How were you going to get people to come out here? I know you said how, meaning plane or boat, but how are they going to know this place exists?" Jim asks.

"Dad and I spent the previous three months going to all the major tour operators in the city promoting the place. Some of them have locations in other countries, not many but a few. It was mostly talking with them that we came up with the all-inclusive plan. One price got you anything you wanted to do when that even was scheduled. … We even have a number of jet skis." Alexis answers his question.

"JET SKIS! … I forgot all about those." Kate places her head in her hands. She had been out here time after time and never, ever did get around to using them.

"Sounds like we know what mom is going to be doing tomorrow." Alexis was smiling, getting Kate to smile back at her.

The sun had long since gone down and Rick decided that it was too late to try and call Robert for the night. He would try Andy in the morning instead.

They were now all back inside watching another movie. Kate chose another movie that they hadn't watched after all of their trips out here. 'BIG'.

"I wonder if that machine actually exists somewhere?" Rick was mostly talking to himself.

"It's a twilight zone machine Castle." Kate chastises him.

"No I mean the machine itself. I could load it with my own cards for answers to questions. …. Oooo, I could have it at my book signings for people who are waiting in line. One side could be the answer and the other side could be a tiny copy of the cover of my latest book." Rick was liking the sound of this the more he thought about it.

"You're writing again?" Jim asks, knowing that his wife loved his books. Jim was still trying to process that his wife's favorite author was now engaged to his daughter. He had been trying to think what Johanna would think about that if she was still here.

"Nikki Heat! … I like her even better than Derek Storm." Rick was smiling wide.

"Nikki Heat?" Jim didn't get it.

Kate put her head in her hands. "Don't get him started dad." Kate implored him.

It was too late. "Nikki Heat is my new main character. She's a homicide detective. She's beautiful, strong, really kick ass. And yet she has a hidden vulnerability that she doesn't let anyone see.

Then along comes someone who won't leave her alone and weasels his way into her life, upsetting her perfect world and getting her to see her life in a whole new way.

Nikki is falling in love with him, she just won't admit it to herself. They spend their time chasing down criminals while dancing around their attraction for each other." Rick tells Jim excitedly.

"Dad based the character after mom actually." Alexis speaks up since she loved the books. They had done this so many times now, that Rick had actually completed three books so far.

Problem was he had to spend time re-typing them all over again since they lost the hard copy each time.

"**ALEXIS!****"** Kate was soooo going to shoot her for that, only to watch Alexis just smile at her knowing that Kate would never actually shoot her.

"You've based you new book series off of Katie?" Jim was a little shocked and proud of his daughter. She was going to be in the books of his wife's favorite author. Now he really wished he knew what Johanna would think of that.

"I have countless ideas on what Nikki and Rook could be doing together. Lots and lots of books." Rick was smiling wide. Kate however was groaning, knowing in her mind just what all these people were going to think of her if they ever found out Nikki Heat was her.

Kate still had a dream of getting Rick to change the name, she would simply re-double her efforts when they finally stopped repeating these nine months over and over again.

Martha had excused herself first for the night, before the movie was even over. Movies were nice but what Martha really wished for was a book to read, though she also was missing her classes and play that she was in.

"Can we get you anything Martha?" Kate wasn't blind. Martha had been mostly silent since she got here. Maybe laying back and doing nothing just wasn't her.

"I'm fine thank you dear. I just miss having a book to read." Martha mentioned off handed, not expecting to suddenly find a book in her hand. Martha had seen everything and there just weren't any books to be seen here.

"We can fix that, don't move." And Kate jumped up and walked quickly for the office area.

Kate was soon back and handed a reader to Martha. "It was one of Rick and Alexis's ideas when they created this place. Instead of having hard back books they have a number of these readers that people could check out.

Each one is pre-loaded with a number of books. If there isn't something you like in this one, we can plug it into one of the laptops that has all the books stored in it. … hundreds of books actually.

All the best sellers for the last 10 years, along with a number of classics. Even some books written by foreign authors, most of which are in their language.

Books by Tom Rob Smith, Yelena Akhtiorskaya, Evgheni Vodolazkin, provided that you can read Russian. Though there are others." Kate looks at Martha, hopeful that Martha could see that Kate wanted Martha to like her, since she had been mostly silent.

Martha took the reader and held it to her chest. "Thank you darling, I'm sure I can find something on this to read."

"You let me know when you run out of things to read, I'm sure we can find you something. We have a lot to choose from." Kate tells her and starts to watch as Martha walks for her room.

"Martha, would you be interested in a boat ride one day. More of a tour really. We could beach the boat and search the beach for sea shells, maybe find some coconuts and get some coconut milk for later." Kate offered.

"That sounds nice dear, I'll look forward to it. Maybe just not the sunburn I'm likely to get." Martha smiled at Kate.

"You can wear a cover, take an umbrella maybe, plus we have lots of sunscreen. Trust me, we stay here long enough and we'll all have deep suntans." Kate tells her knowing that the three of them always end up with tans.

Kate watches Martha go to her room clutching her reader. "Don't forget your glass of wine Martha, or a cup of tea." Kate called before Martha made it to her door. Kate knew all that wine was for her benefit along with all that tea.

"Excellent idea dear." And Martha changed course and went into the kitchen and watched as Kate randomly chose a wine, opened it and poured out a glass until Martha said stop and put the bottle in the refrigerator.

Barbaresco Bruno Giacosa, "Delicious. Full-bodied, with luscious, ripe plum, berry and cherry character and silky tannins, all in balance.

"Thank you darling." Martha takes her wine and reader into her bedroom, not to be seen until morning.

"So what to you three do on this island?" Jim was curious.

"Movies, books, cards, board games, X-box, phone calls, ham radio, pool, when it finally rains so we can fill it, hot tub, fishing, or just plain boating.

Which reminds me, we could take Lady Martha out on a cruise, show you two the area. We might even risk a plane ride to see the area, we've never done that before. We've been too afraid of drawing attention to ourselves." Kate explains.

"Attention?" Jim didn't understand.

"The infection has affected everyone on the planet dad. Even if you're not infected yourself. No one is working the farms so no one is harvesting. No one is taking what was harvested and processing it into food. No one is delivering the food.

No trucks, no shipping traffic. No one is making fuel. No one is shipping the oil to make the fuel.

Eventually all of those things are going to become hard to find and when that happens people are going to become hostile." Kate points out.

"Demonstrations, protests." Jim thinks he understands.

"Worse dad. … The government has gone into hiding to try and save their own useless skins, leaving the local police departments to handle things on their own. No support, no help.

Desperate people will start to do stupid things. Even things they wouldn't normally do. Form up into gangs and go out hunting for what they want and take it when they find it. Killing anyone who gets in their way.

Civilization shuts down at that point, only people with the power are in charge and they make all the decisions.

Even before we came out here we knew that the infection had made it to the US, our senators were evacuating by helicopter to a secure facility. Even the Navy was putting all their ships out to see after stocking up with everything they had.

The infection wasn't even here yet and we were already being abandoned to our fate. They sold us out to save their own skins. … And we let them. …. We knew that they were corrupt but we kept lying to ourselves and voted them right back into office.

I'm no better than anyone else. I lied to myself and voted for the same guy each time telling myself that I didn't have a choice. Except I did, I just didn't take it. It was too hard to change, I kept telling myself.

You do what we've been doing time after time and you'll start to see what we see." Kate didn't want to think like this, just that if you had seen what she had seen time after time, ...


	13. Chapter 13

**CH13**

**It is now one month later: (July)**

As expected it had rained for days right on schedule. It had also trapped everyone inside right up until Rick came out of their master bedroom after three straight days of rain carrying a pair of super soakers and handed one of them to Alexis.

Nerf Super Soaker Freeze Fire Blaster

Nerf Super Soaker Alphafire Blaster

Rick and Alexis quickly teamed up on getting Kate wet. **"CASTLE! **I'm going to shoot you!" Kate yells at him.

"Not without a weapon Kate." Rick points out and goes back to shooting Kate.

Kate has her hands up to try and protect herself. "Then were is mine?"

"Same place I got these. Our bedroom." Rick tells Kate, just doesn't stop shooting her.

Kate ran for the bedroom while Rick and Alexis re-filled their weapons.

Kate came running back out into the main room, after having to find that she needed to load her weapon too and looked around. "Where did the cowards go?" Kate asks looking at Jim and Martha. That got Martha to point at the still open back patio door.

Jim and Martha watch as Kate runs out the door screaming.

Super Soaker Thunderstorm

It left Jim and Martha staring at where all three of them had gone. "I don't recall Katie ever acting like this before." Jim comments, still staring at the still open door.

"I blame my son. … I must have gone wrong somewhere." Martha knew her son was still a child at heart, just not to this extreme.

It was at least an hour later when a completely soaked, it was still raining outside after all, Rick, Kate and Alexis came back inside laughing while still giving someone a quick squirt of water.

Rick and Alexis headed for their respective bathrooms to get clean. "Excuse us." Kate tells Jim and Martha and follows Rick into the shower, where Rick pins her to the shower wall and has his way with her. Not that Kate even tried to stop him. Her voice telling him 'Don't stop, don't stop' may have had something to do with it.

Kate was drying her hair still naked while Rick was still drying off using a towel. Kate suddenly stopped however she didn't turn the dryer off. "We didn't use protection." Kate whispered out.

That got Rick to drop his towel and step up behind Kate and wrap his arms around her. "It took more than just one time to get you pregnant last time and we have gone without protection before and you didn't get pregnant." Rick tries to take some of her fears away.

"I'm not losing another baby Rick. … I'm not." Kate lowered the dryer but didn't turn it off.

"Your period is in about a week. If it doesn't come than we can start making decisions about what to do." Rick offers.

"You know when my periods are?" Kate stared at his image in the mirror in front of her.

"Kate, we've been together for 15 years. Of course I know when your periods are." Rick wasn't clueless when it came to Kate.

Kate turned off the dryer and placed it on the counter and spun in place so she was facing him now, and then put her arms around Rick's neck. "I love you and I don't want to think of my life without you. …. Or Alexis."

"If you do end up pregnant than this will be the last time we do this Kate, it has to be. I don't want to lose another baby any more than you do." Rick kisses her.

"You three have fun?" Jim asks Alexis who came back first.

"Actually yes." Alexis sat down on the sofa between the two. "The first few times we came out here, mom was so, … serious. She didn't smile, didn't laugh. We had to drag mom to do things with us. It took a few trips out here to get mom to open up. Now mom is a lot more fun.

Mom is more alive now." Alexis tells them.

Jim was still adjusting to Katie being called mom, however it did make him happy to see Katie so happy, and apparently he had Rick and maybe Alexis to thank for that.

Rick and Jim were each carrying one of the coolers down to the boat one day. They had decided to go out cruising. Kate was carrying one of the Tommy guns along with one of the duffel bags that had three of the 100 round drums while Alexis had another duffel bag that had their two SIG's along with all 10 clips.

Kate had kicked herself. She had brought more ammunition for her service weapon but failed to bring more clips, so the SIG's had been the best choice.

Jim and Martha had seen the Lady Martha from a distance but had never been aboard her. "This is not a boat Katie, it's a Yacht." Jim comments once he gets inside below decks.

It had two sofas, two coffee tables and 2 low back chairs. A full kitchen with a breakfast bar that could seat 5. Along with a dining room table that could seat 6.

The main bathroom was a little compact but tasteful. It also had an interesting shower configuration. It had glass doors on each end that opened from either the main bathroom or master bathroom.

Heck it even had a combination washer/dryer onboard along with 3 bedrooms. There was even a sitting room behind the two pilot seats.

There was even a sofa area aft that could seat 3 that you could sit down on and watch where you came from.

Jim had gone fishing out on boats before, just that this wasn't a boat!

Martha, Kate and Alexis found themselves out on the aft sofa while Jim joined Rick in one of the plot chairs. "You've done this too I suppose." Jim was still trying to wrap his mind around this event/theory.

"Actually no, this is a first for all three of us. Since we brought you and my mother with us this time, we're doing a lot of new things." Rick tells him as he pays more attention to where he was going.

"Have a destination in mind?" Jim questions.

"I do actually. I was thinking of beaching us on an island that you and my daughter marooned us at." Rick tells him.

"I marooned you on an island?" Jim was immediately lost.

"Kate and I were getting closer together, but we weren't talking to each other about what we were feeling. Too afraid of scaring off the other. So you and my daughter hatched a plan to maroon us together for 3 days, alone." Rick tells him as he approaches the island in question.

"I came up with a plan to get you and my Katie together, on purpose?" Jim needed to hear this again.

"It worked to. All we had was each other, a pair of towels, a single bottle of water and a bag of jerky, for three whole days. It forced us to talk to each other, really talk.

We've been together ever since, time after time. We've become a family because of it, so in a way I have you to thank for helping me fall in love with the most amazing woman I've ever met." Rick turns to look at Jim and smile at him.

"Fifteen years at this, if you are correct. Most couples would be married and have children by now." Jim was only just starting to grasp what these three had been through.

"Yeah, you would think." Jim thought he sounded sad suddenly.

Rick beached the boat and everyone was forced to go over the side into the water to reach the beach. Rick put out the anchor to hold the boat in place, not that they were going to stay here all that long.

Rick, Alexis and Martha headed down the beach looking for sea shells, leaving Kate with her dad. Kate took one of the SIG's while Alexis took the other.

"Rick tells me I marooned you two here." Jim was looking for confirmation.

That got Kate to chuckle. "Yeah, you did. You and Alexis hatched this plan to leave us here alone. … It forced us to talk to each other dad. Until than I was still in my shell, surrounded by all my walls that I put up after mom died.

We still didn't talk much for the first two days, well beyond what was necessary. It wasn't until the third day that we broke down and started talking. Rick was actually first. There wasn't anywhere to run and we had to talk to cooperate if we wanted to survive. We knew Alexis would come back eventually. It took all day for Rick to make it past some of my walls. Enough that we kept talking and getting closer.

Now I don't know what I was waiting for, what I thought I was going to accomplish hiding behind all my walls.

Rick is amazing dad. Unlike any other guy I've ever met. One minute he's an adult and deadly serious, and the next second he's a 12 year old child. Sometimes it pisses me off, while other times he brings out the child in me that I had hidden away.

He makes living fun dad." Kate only now noticed that she had tears running down her face and wiped them away.

"Mom died and you chose a whiskey bottle and I chose to close myself off and dive into my work. You got sober and I stayed behind my walls, until Rick.

I love him more than anything dad. He's made me live again and enjoy living." Kate wipes away more tears, knowing that she has never told her father any of this. Not in the weeks prior to flying out here or talking with him on the phone.

"And Alexis?" Jim asks, since he had Katie talking more than she had talked to him in months if not years.

"Alexis!? … Alexis is a brilliant young woman who has gone through more pain concerning her mother than any person should have to put up with.

Meredith, her real mother, the woman who gave birth to her. Meredith simply ignores here. Doesn't love her, doesn't care that Alexis exists unless it suits her to notice. Doesn't call to just say hi or that I love you and miss you. Doesn't come to her birthdays, doesn't send presents, not even so much as a card.

Then out of the blue she'll call and say she is coming out for a visit, but never shows. Then suddenly she does show up so she can get into Rick's bed for sex, and then she blows right back out again without even saying hello to her daughter." Kate wiped away still more tears for Alexis.

"I had mom for 19 years and losing her did this to me. Meredith doesn't hate Alexis, she does something much, much worse. She ignores her own daughter.

Why doesn't my mommy love me? Why doesn't my mommy want to see me? Why am I not good enough for my mommy?" Kate stopped walking and wiped away here tears that were flowing even faster now.

"It hurts my heart dad. … What that woman has done to that beautiful young woman. I can't help but wish she had been mine at birth so I could have taken away all that pain." Kate wraps her arms around her dad and let's herself cry, something she hasn't ever done for a very long time.

"That's why she calls you mom." Jim gets it now, feeling Kate nod her head.

Kate finally calms down. "Alexis may be 16, but she's my daughter now and I'm never going to stop loving her. She deserves every ounce of love I can give her." Kate steps back from her father and wipes away her tears and sniffles.

"Than do what you think is right Katie. … It's good to see you happy. I'm sure your mother is dancing wherever she is." Jim knew if Johanna was here she would be happy for Katie.

Jim and Kate eventually caught up with the others. "We found sea shells mom, like this one." Alexis held up a large sea shell like you would see in those commercials that someone would blow into.

There were no coconuts, there was however a picnic on the beach using the two coolers along with a duffel bag that had the two SIG's in it and all 10 clips.

"Except for the sunburn I'm sure to have, this is nice and I could get used to this." Jim comments.

That got Alexis to dive into the duffel bag and come back out with a bottle of sunscreen. "Turn round gramps." Alexis offers and squirts out some into her hand. Not noticing Jim's look of shock on his face. Still he turned around and let Alexis rub on the sunscreen.

Martha leaned in close to Kate. "Did Alexis just, …?" Martha whispers hopefully only loud enough for Kate to hear. Getting Kate to nod her head and smile wide at Alexis. It helped her love Alexis even more.

Picnic was BBQ pork shoulder sandwiches, with fruit, bags of potato chips and some cold drinks thanks to the ice in the cooler.

"Now all we need is a volleyball or badminton net, even a soccer ball." Jim offers.

"Wood for a campfire, marshmallows, smores, a guitar and someone who can sing." Rick offers.

"Katie plays guitar and sings." Jim offers.

"**DAD!"** Kate had just found a reason for her father not to be here. Parents loved to embarrass their children.

"You didn't tell me you could play and sing." Rick glared at Kate.

"I can't, I don't know what my dad is talking about." Please stop talking dad.

"We even paid for her guitar lessons, and you have a nice voice Katie." Jim kept right on digging himself deeper.

"Don't pay any attention to him babe, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He's confusing me with my mom or my sister." Kate tells them and keeps praying.

"You don't have a sister." Rick counters.

"Who told you that?" Kate answers back.

"You did." Rick responds with a slightly shocked face.

"I lied." Kate knows it isn't her first lie, besides the fact that she's lying now.

"Really?" Rick glared at Kate not believing a word of it.

"Well we don't have a guitar and I don't want to kill all the plant life in the area so I'm not singing, so yes, … I lied." Conversation was now over!

"The guitar is in your apartment Katie, I've seen it." Jim counters enjoying Kate's pain, besides it was his job to embarrass his daughter, wasn't it?

"I don't know who this man is, I've never seen him before in my life." Kate goes back to praying, not that it seems to be working.

Alexis leans into Kate and whispers. "You're doomed mom." Alexis knew Rick wasn't ever going to forget this, even if they did repeat this all over again.

Kate simply moaned and hung her head low, not seeing her dad smiling wide at her discomfort that he had a part in.

Martha was simply enjoying the show of a family being together. Something she had wished for her son and granddaughter for years. Now if she could just get more grandchildren.

It was going to be dark in the not too distant future. "We need to get going Kate, I've never had to pilot us home in the dark, and we didn't turn on the lights at the dock to even see it." Rick points out.

This time Kate was sitting next to Rick while he piloted them back home. "We should have brought our parents out here with us earlier. It's fun having them around." Rick offered.

"Speak for yourself babe." Kate was still put out with her dad.

"Kate, he's only being a father, tell me you didn't enjoy it." Rick challenges her.

"I didn't enjoy it." Kate immediately tells him without looking at him.

"Kate?" Rick didn't believe her.

"O-kay it was fun right up to the point of the teasing." Kate gives in.

"And you loved that too because the entire day felt like a family day, something that you know you loved." Rick counters taking a quick peek at Kate.

Kate however remained silent even if a small crack of a smile reached her lips.

Kate was listening and feeling Rick sleeping as she was cuddled up close. Kate couldn't remember when she became a cuddler but she was enjoying the closeness and warmth that came with it.

"You're still awake." Rick suddenly comments and works at placing both his arms around Kate and pull Kate in closer still. "Is there a reason for this?"

"I just keep replaying the day on the beach over and over in my mind." Kate explains.

"With or without the guitar?" Rick teased which earned him a quick light strike to his chest.

"Your dad was simply being just that Kate. … A dad." Rick comments.

"You don't understand babe. … My dad hasn't been a dad for a very long time. Not since before mom died." Kate talked softly, still processing what happened today.

"Give him a chance Kate, maybe he'll surprise you while he is out here. It's not like he can run away and go to his apartment, and except for mother's wine and the beer in the store, there is no alcohol anywhere near here." Rick points out.

"I just, … I don't know what to do with a dad anymore. He disappeared into the bottom of a whiskey bottle after mom died and I grew up on my own, and then add doing this over and over again.

I mean I know he's my dad, it's just that I've done without for so long." Kate tried to explain.

"Then maybe it's a good thing we brought them and are stuck here for the next few months. You two get to reconnect and find each other again.

You've both changed Kate. You've gone through loss and so has he. … Has it occurred to you that after he got sober that he felt like he had lost you too? Didn't know how to reconnect any more than you did?

He is still your dad." Rick points out. "He relied on his wife to help him reach you, now he has to do it alone, and he's never been alone before."

"And suddenly I show up with a future husband and a grown daughter, with a story straight out of Twilight Zone." Kate is starting to understand.

"Oooo, nice display of your geekiness." Rick teases and earns him yet another swat to his chest.

"Just remember Kate, to you it all makes perfect sense. This is all new to him and except for your mother's books, he doesn't know anything about me." That was the part that had Rick nervous.

"I know you met mom, … I just wish she had a chance to get to know you. See what I see." Kate was still missing her.

"Your mom is learning about me Kate. She is learning through you and your dad. Your mom has left her mark in both of you. She sees what you two see." Rick offers getting serious.

"Who are you and what have you done with my fiancé?" Kate questions while smiling with her face still buried into his chest.

"Makes you want me doesn't it?" Rick smiles down at Kate.

"And there's the man child that I'm engaged to." Kate teases, only to squeal when Rick spins them and Kate finds herself on her back with Rick hovering above her.

Kate spent the next hour finding out just how her fiancé wasn't a child, but all man.


	14. Chapter 14

**CH14**

**It is now one month later: (August)**

"Where's Rick?" Jim asks one day, having not seen him in days.

"Castle is writing, or to be more precise, re-writing." Kate tries to explain.

Kate sees the look her dad is giving her. "We've done this so many times that Castle has actually written three Nikki Heat books. Right now he is re-writing what he has already written more than once. Once he finishes those three again, he'll start on the fourth." Kate adds.

"Nikki Heat?" Jim had never heard of them and what happened to the Derek Storm books? His wife had gotten him hooked too. Plus he was jealous, … just a little.

"It's dad's new character for his books. He based the character off of mom." Alexis speaks up, getting Kate to cringe since she hasn't convinced Rick to change the name yet. Not that she hasn't given up just yet.

And the look Jim was giving her only made Kate sigh and hang her head down. That name had to go or she was going to die when people found out.

"Nikki Heat?" Jim tries again.

"She's based off of mom's life. She's a homicide detective with a civilian tag along that the two slowly fall in love with each other. They run around New York City solving crimes together." Alexis explains it a little.

"Rick is writing about you?" Jim tries to work this out in his head.

"It's not about me, just based off of me. Castle takes me and dreams up these different events for the two of them to get into. He's simply using me to get inspiration from." Kate tries to explain, using what Rick had told her countless numbers of events ago.

Jim remained quiet while he thought this through. "Nikki Heat?" Jim wasn't sure if he wanted to know where the name came from.

Kate simply sighed and squeezed her eyes closed. "I've tried to get him to change the name, he's just being stubborn." Kate opens her eyes again, only to see her dad grinning at her.

"And you know all about being stubborn." Jim comments knowing his daughter has her picture after the word in the dictionary. Jim knows she didn't invent the word, but oh how she has given it new meaning.

"I am not stubborn." Kate crosses her arms across her chest. "Tell him I'm not stubborn." Kate turns to look at Alexis who was sitting next to her on one of the bar stools.

"I'm going to go feed the chickens and gather some eggs for breakfast." Alexis hops down and starts walking for the patio door.

"ALEXIS HARPER CASTLE!, …. Stop right there. …. I am not stubborn, tell him." Please tell him, Kate tries to beam into Alexis's head using her ESP ability.

"Welllll, …. I'm going to go feed the chickens and gather some eggs." This time Alexis all but runs, leaving a stunned Kate in her wake.

It did however leave Jim and Martha who were sitting on the sofa, chuckling softly. They were both slowly learning how this family worked.

Alexis eventually came back and was using her wrap to hold the eggs since she had left in a hurry without a bowl to put them in. And Alexis could soon feel Kate throwing daggers into her back while she cooked breakfast for everyone. Eggs, bacon, toast and juice made fresh the day before using the fresh fruit on the island.

It had taken a number of trial and errors to use the proper blending of fruits to get a flavor the three of them liked. It wasn't orange juice, but it was still packed with vitamin C.

Rick was typing while Kate and Jim went out fishing for more catfish for tonight, leaving Martha and Alexis with each other.

"You three seem to get along pretty well." Martha comments.

That got Alexis to smile. "It took mom some time to come around, but it does feel like a family now." Alexis admits.

"Because Katherine is stubborn." Martha grinned from earlier.

"Mom had a lot of walls that she was hiding behind when we first met her. I guess you could call that stubborn. I think dad acting like a child too often wasn't helping at first.

It wasn't until mom's walls started failing her that her personality started to come out. Mom is still stubborn, just for a different reason now. She's great grams." Alexis knew she loved Kate a lot.

"Well I'm happy for you dear, lord knows you deserve to find someone besides your father who loves you." Martha hugged Alexis, getting Alexis to smile.

"And you've really been doing this over and over again." Martha wanted to hear it again, since it didn't seem any different to her.

"Nine months, repeated over and over. We still don't know why we're the only ones who can see it. And at first and maybe still is, just a number of **Déjà vu** moments that didn't feel real somehow. Now those moments are as if we actually lived them.

Why you and the others don't see them, … I don't know." Alexis didn't have an explanation, neither did her mom or dad.

"But your safe dear, that's what counts." Martha gives Alexis a quick hug. "I believe I'll go read dear until dinner. Call me if something comes up." And Martha retreats to her room.

Dinner turned out to be shark steaks that Rick grilled, plus fresh fruit, green beans and garlic bread, since they had the butter this time.

"Katie tells us you're writing a new book." Jim offers while they eat outside under the stars.

"Yup, a whole new series. I've got three of them all up here." Rick taps his head. "I just need the time to actually type them all out before I can start on the fourth." Rick tells him.

"Only to lose all that work when you repeat this again." Jim felt bad for him, not that he was catching on to what these three had been going through.

"There is that, but we're hoping that this will be the last time. … It needs to be the last time." Rick added softly, since Rick was tired of this. It did however get Kate to place a hand on his.

It was now that Kate's eyes opened wide. "Excuse me." And Kate headed for the master bedroom on-suite.

"I'll go." Alexis gets up and follows Kate.

Rick can see the look at Jim and Martha's face and shakes his head. He didn't know what that was about, he hadn't had time to think it through yet.

Alexis knocked on the bathroom door. "MOM?"

"I'll be right out honey." Kate calls back and so Alexis sits on the bed and waits.

It takes a few minutes and a lot worse for wear Kate comes out and sits next to Alexis. "I'm not pregnant." Kate tells her.

Realization suddenly hits Alexis. "Like just now?" Alexis watches Kate nod her head. "And you were worried?"

"I'm not losing another baby Alexis, …. I'm just not." Kate wraps her arms around Alexis soaking up some of her strength. It was something Kate had learned to do after avoiding this for so long. Let others be strong for her when she needed it.

"It wasn't your fault the first time mom. If this, … nightmare, hadn't repeated itself we'd have a baby in our lives. It's not your fault." Alexis hugged Kate back. "Guess that means I'll have mine tonight sometime." Alexis comments.

That was one of the funny things about women who are forced to be around each other for long periods of time. Their systems seem to talk to each other and their cycle times adjust so that they all have their periods at roughly the same time. Why that was ,...?

"Let me know if you need help for any reason." Kate kisses her head. "I love you. … Come on back to our dinner before your father comes charging in here trying to find out what happened to us." Kate stands up and offers her arms to pull Alexis up off the bed.

Kate kissed Rick's head as she sat down and smiled wide at him. Kate could read the look on his face. It had 'What?' written all over it.

Kate leaned in and whispered. "I love you, … period." Kate sat back and smiled while she watched her words play across his face as Rick thought about them.

'I love, period.' Rick thought about those words. Rick already knew they loved each other, and yes they told each other that they did constantly and they meant it when they said it.

He had disappeared into their bedroom to write before and knew that they still loved each other.

'Period' The way she used it made him think that she was going to forever love him and he should never think of anything different. Her love was final, and she had said yes to his proposal.

'Period' Did she mean her period? Was she trying to tell him that she was pregnant again? Rick almost literally moaned and squeezed his eyes closed. Losing another baby was going to be hell.

Rick snapped his eyes open and saw that Kate was smiling at him. Kate should be crying if she was pregnant, wouldn't she? Now Rick opened his eyes wide. Period could also mean that she had, had her period and wasn't pregnant and the pain of not getting to keep the baby had been taken away.

Rick took one of Kate's hands and brought it up and kissed it softly and kept a hold of it as he smiled back at Kate and turned his attention back to what everyone else was talking about.

It was a couple of weeks later and Kate and Alexis were floating around in the pool holding hands still. Kate had started it and Alexis found that she liked it. It gave her a connection that she hadn't had with a grown woman in years.

"Mind if I join you?" Jim asks standing at the ladder.

"Come on in dad. The sunscreen is on the table." Kate tells him knowing that the two of them had coated each other with sunscreen before getting in the pool.

"Already used my own, thanks." Jim comments as he climbs into the pool. He had no desire to get a sunburn either. "Not exactly a swimming kind of swimming pool." Jim mentions as he sinks down till the water is above his shoulders.

"We did look into a large in-ground pool while this place was in design and development. We found out real fast what it would take to get a team and all of their tools, equipment and supplies out here.

We were just glad that the giant cistern was still in good condition. It didn't need any work except to have it scrubbed clean. I don't know how the original owner got it installed.

Putting in an above ground pool was the only affordable and practical option left. This is one of the largest ones we could find." Alexis enlightens him of what they thought about and could do.

"Is there anything you two haven't thought about?" Jim questions.

"I hope not, but go ahead and ask." Alexis challenges him.

Jim actually thought about it. "I saw the gasoline tanks, how long will it last?"

"We had Sta-bil added to our gas so it should last roughly a year. The plan was have a boat come out and fill our tanks roughly every 6 months in the beginning as we adapted to how fast it got used up based on usage." Alexis answers his question.

"Propane?" Jim asks having seen those tanks also.

"The two tanks should last just over a year. The only items that use propane are the tankless water heaters, the refrigerator in the house, which is a combo electric/propane. We also have a fuel dispenser to fill small propane bottles. We can sell propane to guests that show up in their boat and need propane to keep going.

We thought about selling gasoline too, but for now, no." Alexis answers his question.

"Why tents?" Jim asks, knowing they are in hurricane country.

"We thought about block walls with doors and windows. It's just that, that would mean giving each building an air conditioning unit, and since we create our own electricity it made it difficult and costly.

The tent material is rip resistant and easily repairable if it does rip, and easily replaced if it does blow away in a hurricane. There are three tent flaps to guarantee a breeze and the tent actually reflects the heat beating down on it instead of concrete blocks that would trap it and keep the place hot even after the sun went down." Alexis answers his question.

"The staff has to stay in tents too?" Jim questioned. What if the staff didn't want to ruff it too?

"For the first year yes. We wanted time to adjust to what we needed. Dad and I have already looked into what it would take to move house boats down here for the staff to live in. Have their own kitchens, bathrooms, space to live and with A/C.

The staff that stayed with us past the first year would get first choice at the house boats. Whole families or dormitory for singles. We would keep up the boats while they paid for their own food. Fill their water tanks from our cistern. We still have to work out how to pump out the waste from each boat, but we had a year to work that out." Alexis explains.

2005 FANTASY 19 X 90-I

30' sun/moon deck, large hot tub, custom full octagon upper bar, dumb waiter, water purification system, V-8 engines, 20 kw gen, front and rear thruster, custom sunlounger flybridge, covered lower helm, 4 bedrooms and two full baths.

2000 FANTASY 17 X 82-C

4 bedroom, new back up camera, show deco package, 2 bath, V-6 with Bravo II drives, stern thruster, party top, bar and complete bridge.

1989 Sumerset 14X64-1

5.0 L VOLVO ENGINE

12.5KW GENERATOR

NEW CANOPY TOP

PWC DAVIT

FRONT ENCLOSURE

INVERTER

3 BEDROOM

1 FULL BATHS

WASHER / DRYER

2001 Starlite 6715

2001 67' X 15' Starlite, Twin Volvo 3.0L Engines, 12.5KW Westerbeke Generator, Central Air/Heat, 3 Bedrooms, 2 Full Bathrooms, Washer/Dryer, Dish Washer, Wet Bar, Fly Bridge, VHF Radio, Depth Finder, Front Screen Enclosure, Awning on Top, Hot Tub, New Furniture Inside &amp; Out.

2006 Destination 55x16

TWIN 115hp FUEL EFFICIENT Honda Outboards. A new Hot Tub sits on the top deck. Upgraded 3 ton central air system that is efficient and keeps the boat as cold as you like. The twin hulls have bulk heads every 5 feet for safety. A new water heater was recently installed as well as new electronics and batteries. 20kw Westerbeke generator, surround sound system, entertainment center, two bedrooms, two heads, double sliding doors in master to aft deck, Queen size bed in master, stove, microwave, oven, full size fridge, queen guest room that doubles as an office, depth sounder, bar with wine fridge in the living room, leather sofa with recliners.

Jim was shown the pictures much later in the day. Jim had to admit that these two had really planned ahead. He still wasn't sure about staying in tents for a week, he enjoyed his creature comforts. Still he could see the appeal, since he used to do some camping years ago. Oh to be young again.

Jim spent his time in the pool relaxing while he watched his daughter float around the pool holding Alexis's hand the entire time. Until they had both had enough of the pool did they ever let go of the other. Jim however stayed.

"She has a family Jo and she dragged me out here to see it. If these three are right I'll be spending nine months out here watching and learning about her family.

Did she drag me out here to get my approval? Or did she drag me out here simply to show me? And am I still a member of her family? I screwed up Jo and I'm still not sure how to fix it.

Or maybe I've missed my time to fix us, now I'm just grandpa and watch our daughter grow, finally grow after we both lost you. Too bad you're not here to see this. Hopefully you had enough faith that Katie would get here." Jim was still trying to figure out his place in his daughter's life.

"Katie is all grown up and it's her life now. I just get to watch and lend support when I can.

Fifteen years and their not married or have children. Just how much can you do in nine months?" Jim really didn't know what could have happened living nine months over and over again.

Since Kate and Alexis were gone, Jim grabbed one of the mattresses and got on so he could float around dipping his hand into the water and push himself around lost in his thoughts.

Kate and Alexis were sitting at the breakfast bar watching Rick start working on dinner. "How goes the writing?" Kate asks him.

"Not bad, I think I'm changing a few words each time I re-write it. It's kinda hard to remember it word for word, and it feels funny writing from memory. Not really creative writing. It almost feels like I'm plagiarizing someone else's work since I'm not creating it, just writing it.

It'll feel good to finish and move on to the next book. Feel like I'm writing again instead of just typing." Rick tried to explain.

"So you're writing again dad?" Alexis wanted to hear him say it.

"Yeah, I like writing these books. I feel better about them than I did writing Derek Storm. Nikki is so much more a dynamic person, and has so much more of a future." Rick was smiling since he knew he was talking about Kate.

"Rick." Kate cooed with a soft voice.

"Her name is Nikki Heat, Kate." Rick turns his head from the stove to smile at her, long enough to watch Kate sit back into her seat and huff at him.

Getting Rick to smile wide and go back to his cooking preparations.

"You do know that I own a gun." Nothing else has worked, maybe a threat will.

"You own one and I own eight." Rick answers back.

"EIGHT? … How do you figure eight?" Kate didn't see how that was possible.

"Well let's count them. … Two Tommy guns, one sniper rifle, two SIG's and three super soakers." Rick smiles at Kate.

"The super soakers don't count." Kate argues back.

"Their guns and they hold ammunition, that just happens to be water instead of bullets, and they could be lethal." Rick points out.

"And how does shooting water make them lethal?" Kate wasn't following.

"Well water did melt the wicked witch of the west." Rick points out.

"OH, SO NOW I'M A WITCH AM I?" Kate got out of her chair and went down the hall to the master bedroom, striding with determination in each step.

"You are a dead man dad." Alexis points out. "You just compared mom to a witch." Alexis got up and moved to a chair that was further away from her father.

"I'll make it up to her later, and that's not what I meant." Rick offers up to his daughter.

"You are so dead dad, so very dead." Alexis knew Kate was going to get him for that.

Rick ignored her comment and went back to working on dinner, while he thought up things to do to make it up to Kate.

Right up until Rick screamed and arched his back since that part of him had just been attacked.

Rick turned to find Kate with two of the three super soakers in her hands and was blasting him as fast as she could pull the trigger.

First his back had gotten wet, now his chest and face were getting back, as Kate was smiling wide and letting him have it with both barrels. All the time listening to his daughter laugh her ass off.


	15. Chapter 15

**CH15**

**It is now one month later: (September)**

Jim and Martha had learned a lot over the last two months of living on the island. Talking with Andy in Alaska had told them just how worldwide all of this was. Listening to him talk about the people in Japan that he was in contact with on a weekly basis, just like he was with them.

They were learning that only the islands were completely clean since most of them had shut down their air transport into their space early on when the rabies break out first occurred.

From Robert in England they were learning that the Royal Air Force was sending out recon flight missions to see the affect all of this has had on Europe. Robert hadn't as yet heard anything about what they had found, only that they were flying the missions.

Rick had tried one more time to try and get Andy and Robert to spread the word on the invisibility shots. It wasn't a cure, but it was a way to clear the areas that were infected.

Kate and Alexis were out in the fruit trees collecting fruit for later with plans of going over to the nut trees to get some snacks for later. "Alexis honey can we talk?" Kate had something she wanted to talk about. Something that Kate needed to resolve at least in her mind.

"Sure mom, what's up?" Alexis had a guess since this was the first time they had brought Jim and Martha with them this time.

"I wanted to make sure that you know that you don't have to deal with Meredith or Gina ever again if you don't want to. … All you have to do is let me know and I'll handle it." And by handle it, Kate meant take her for a car ride and shoot her.

Alexis almost dropped the fruit that she had just picked and turned to look at Kate. Kate was her mom, why would she want Meredith or Gina anywhere near her?

Meredith did have a habit of just showing up on a whim and upset everyone, while Gina was already out of their lives since her dad had stopped writing. Just now he was writing again, and if dad took them to Black Pawn to be published, Gina would be back in their lives again.

Maybe they could talk her dad into using a different publishing company and avoid Gina.

"Just don't shoot them mom." Alexis decided on humor.

"I make no promises honey. … And I mean it, if you don't want to deal with them let me know and I'll handle it." Kate stopped Alexis and kissed her head.

"Thanks mom." Alexis tossed the fruit she had in hand over he shoulder and hugged Kate.

Kate suddenly felt better. Those two women had done enough damage already and Kate wasn't going to put up with any more.

Kate and Alexis were chopping their fruit into smaller pieces that would go into a piece of Tupperware and then into the refrigerator for later. While they worked Martha was sitting on the sofa reading from her reader. Kate found a downside to people using readers. She didn't know what book they were reading by just looking at the binding, so she didn't know what Martha was reading.

Cheap Romance novel, crime and punishment, serial killer, science fiction, fantasy, military, … what? Kate didn't know enough about Martha to even make a guess. However she had a few months to find out so no reason to push. After all there was nowhere for any of them to go.

"You know what your father is doing?" Kate asks Alexis since she didn't see him or her dad.

"My dad has your dad helping him put gas in three of the jet skis." Alexis explains.

Kate pumped her arms up into the air. **"YES!"** Followed by suddenly looking embarrassed.

That did however get Martha to stop reading and look at Kate and grin. It warmed her heart that her son had found someone who was so full of life and loved her granddaughter.

She also had the next few months it would appear to get to know her better.

"If we're going to smoke the baby back ribs for tonight, shouldn't they already be in the smoker?" Kate asks.

Alexis looked at her watch. "It's about 3 to 3-1/2 hours, so if we want to eat at say 6:00, they should go in the smoker in about 2-1/2 to 3 hours, however we need to put the wood chips and turn it on half an hour earlier, so we still have time." Alexis tells Kate since it looked like Kate had an ulterior motive for asking.

"GOOD! That gives an hour on the jet skis. … Let's go!" Kate smiles at Alexis and all but jogs for the door leading into the office.

"We're going boating grams, you want to come? You and Jim can join us on Flash." Alexis offers.

Martha hadn't been boating for years. "I believe I will dear, thank you." Martha puts her reader down on the coffee table and catches up to Alexis finding Kate waiting for them just outside.

"I'm glad you decided to come Martha. You should have fun while you are here. I know it's not Manhattan, however even Manhattan isn't the same place you left behind anymore." Kate tells her.

"I can't imagine what I did in that precinct of yours for nine months." Martha was sure it nearly drove her insane.

"So what do you do at home Martha?" Kate wanted her to have fun, not just sit around reading and drinking wine.

"I'm an actress dear, I act in plays and teach students how to act. I even have my own little studio with a few choice students. I have a couple of students right now that I think might turn into something special.

All of my students come from families that don't have much but have a desire to learn and act. I do what I can to make their dreams come true." Martha explains.

"Perhaps you could put on a one woman show. You have a ready made audience that can't go anywhere. There is a small work shop out in the storage building to help build sets, if you need one.

We even have a few spare bedsheets and some floor fans for when it is cool enough to open the door and windows but want a draft.

Think it over Martha." Kate offered.

"Why thank you dear, that is an excellent idea. Perhaps I can borrow one of your laptops to place notes on." Martha perked up suddenly and looked lively and interested.

"Of course Martha, we can even call Espo and have him send anything you might need and download it onto your laptop or maybe even print it out if it isn't too big.

They might still have access to the internet that you can put to use." Kate tells her.

"I'll think about it. Thank you Katherine!" Martha takes Kate's arm in her hand for a moment and smiles.

"We're here to put the jet skis to use while Martha and my father go out in Flash to join us." Kate tells Rick who was just finishing filling the last jet ski.

"Then let's ride!" Rick responds smiling.

Martha was content to let Jim drive until he told her to take his place and literally let go of the wheel and helped Martha into the seat. Martha wasn't so sure about this but did it anyway.

The two of them saw Rick, Kate and Alexis zipping around them since Martha refused to go anywhere near as fast as Kate did or even Jim had for that matter. Still when Martha steered the boat into the dock and watched Kate and Alexis tie her off, Martha was smiling because it had been fun.

Kate met Rick at the start of the dock where Rick was tying the jet skis in place and hugged him. "Thank you, that was fun." And then she kissed him while everyone walked up the dock from the boat.

"I aim to please." Rick smiled back and gave Kate a quick kiss.

"We need to put the ribs in the smoker so we can have dinner." Kate tells Rick remembering her earlier conversation with Alexis.

"I'll go get the wood chips while you rub the ribs." Rick offers.

"Deal." Kate heads for the house just in front of the others.

Rick, Jim and Alexis were outside supervising Rick warming up the smoker while Martha was sitting at the breakfast bar while Kate was mixing up the dry rub to put on the ribs.

"So tell me about yourself dear. Did you always want to be a police man?" Just how did Kate get into this line of work?

"Oh no, my parents were both lawyers and I had decided that I wanted to be one too. Become the first female Supreme Court Justice. I was so sure I was going to make it to. Right after graduating from high school I applied for law school at Stanford.

Even though my teenage years were, … not up to my parents expectations, I still managed to keep my grades up so I was accepted." Kate starts off with.

Martha heard another story in there somewhere but let it pass for now. "Lawyer to police. A fair sized jump even if both could conceivably involve law enforcement." Defend suspected criminals in court or prosecute them.

"There was a life changing moment during my first semester at Stanford." Kate worked at building up the courage to tell Martha. She was engaged to her son, so she knew that Martha deserved to know.

"I was home for Christmas break and my dad and I were supposed to meet mom at a restaurant. She was going to go straight there from work, except she never showed. My dad and I sat there for the first hour, waiting. Finally we ordered something to eat and still sat there waiting after we finished.

Finally we went home with the intent of calling her. Cell phones weren't that popular back then. … Except we found a homicide detective waiting for us at our door. A detective Raglan." A very dirty detective Raglan it had turned out lately.

Martha had an instant pained expression on her face not liking where this story was going.

"Mom had been found, dead in an alley somewhere. Stabbed in the back and left to bleed out. Mom still had her purse, wallet and Jewelry so it wasn't a robbery. The police chalked it up to an act of random gang violence and closed the case.

That answer didn't sit well with me. Someone had killed my mother and if the police weren't going to find out who, then I was. … So I quit Stanford and ending up ultimately in joining the police academy.

I put in my time out on the streets. Rode around in a police cruiser with my partner. Went to my fair share of domestic violence disputes. A few stabbings and gunshot victims. A number of car accidents, even stood out in the middle of an intersection directing traffic. Robberies and other things.

Finally I got my shot at being a homicide detective, junior grade and had a senior partner. Now I was learning all about murders, who commits them, what to look for, how to interview suspects and console the families while asking them questions they don't want to hear.

Captain Montgomery was a big help in those early years." Martha however noticed that her voice had changed when she had mentioned his name and she was grinding her hands into the ribs instead of more gently rubbing them like earlier. Something must have gone wrong.

"And your mother?" Martha asks.

"Oh I started working on my mother's case day one. About a year later I found that it was consuming me and my work was suffering because of it. If I kept it up I'd end up fired and then I'd never solve it.

So I went into therapy and came out a year later with a better understanding of what my mother's case meant to me, and how it was consuming me. I referred to it as going down my own personal rabbit hole, never seeing the light of day every again.

I finally made it to senior detective and was in charge of a team. You've actually talked to them on the phone. Espo and Ryan. … You would be sitting next to them, maybe even sleeping next to them at the precinct even if we hadn't brought you out here this time." Kate had gone back to softly rubbing again Martha noticed.

"And this Captain Montgomery?" Martha knew it was a sore subject by the looks of it, still maybe she could learn something. Something that she could help Katherine with.

"Captain Montgomery decided to retire and actually helped me with my captains' exam and started teaching me how to run an entire precinct, not just the homicide floor that I was already in charge of." Kate explains.

"He sounds like a nice man." Martha didn't understand. Maybe it wasn't him exactly but something that his name reminded her of?

"You would think so wouldn't you." Martha could now hear the venom in her voice. All her years of acting and she had learned people's voices and their mannerisms. When they were happy, when they were sad, or when they were angry, and right now Kate was angry and slowly working her way to furious, and then it was gone. Like the flip of a light switch.

"Let's get these ribs into the smoker shall we, it'll be a nice change from shark and even catfish. Then maybe we can do the pork shoulder next and start having BBQ sandwiches for lunch." Kate smiled and picked up her extremely well rubbed ribs and started walking for the smoker out on the back patio.

That left Martha sitting there watching her walk away. Katherine was a lovely young woman and she had no doubt that her son had noticed that. Plus she was strong and sure of herself and yet still vulnerable.

Alexis had told her of Katherine's walls and how she acted the first few times that they had come here. And it seemed that those walls had all come down and she had let Richard and Alexis into that place no one else was allowed to go.

A beautiful homicide detective with a broken past that had presented her son with a mystery. The perfect woman for him. Richard would likely spend the rest of his life trying to make up for her past so that she didn't keep suffering from it.

And her granddaughter just wanted a grown woman to love and love her back. Be the mom that she had never had. Martha had not trouble seeing that. Her own son had grown up without a father, even if there was a difference between the two.

Richard didn't know who his father was and had never seen him. Alexis however knew who her mother was and that she wasn't any kind of mother at all, and what Meredith had done to that sweet child had always caused her heart pain. It's just that at her age she was no match for Meredith and was forced to sit on the sidelines and pray everything would work out.

Maybe, just maybe all those prayers weren't for nothing. Just what would happen to these two when this stopped happening over and over again?

Martha didn't want to think about that, she had now and it was time to be a part of it. So she grabbed a glass and poured some wine into it and went outside to join the others and get in on the conversation. Time to include herself as a member of this family.

Martha was sitting down with her glass of wine while watching Rick placing the ribs in the smoker.

"Excellent idea Martha! Thank you." Kate went back inside and came back out with a small glass of wine herself.

"You mentioned earlier that the politicians knew this was coming." Jim started off on a sensitive topic. Typically one of the taboos. Talking about politics.

"Well to give them credit we don't know that they KNEW what was coming up the east coast before it got to Miami. They may be only doing what anyone else would have done at the time. Run for their lives." Kate offers.

"Except that they used helicopters likely manned by the military and they ran to a multi-million dollar, maybe state of the art, underground facility 61 miles outside of DC, paid for using public tax dollars. While that same public is left to fend for themselves and likely dying in the millions." Rick points out with an easily noticed venom in his voice.

"You mentioned that you tried to contact the CDC and WHO and likely got nowhere, since it got this far. Did you try to contact any of the senators? Like the one for New York for example." Jim asks, thinking that if they knew it was coming but couldn't do anything about it, they took the 'every man for himself' attitude and screw everyone else.

"I don't have any contacts in the senate and one of our New York senators would be the last person I would tell. Actually I'm kinda hoping that he didn't make it into hiding, and was either infected or vaporized by one of the nukes." Jim and even Martha had no trouble telling that Rick didn't just not like this person, he hated him.

Kate took pity on the looks that Jim and Martha were wearing. "We have a lot of circumstantial evidence that my captain and Senator Bracken are involved with mom's murder." Kate tells them.

That got Martha to start coughing choking on her wine while Jim simply stared at his daughter.

"Roy bought my house out in the Hamptons using cash from a bank account in the Caymans that is owned by one William H. Bracken, which just happens to have an insane amount of money in it.

And I thought Patterson was rich." Rick looks skyward since he did think Patterson was rich. Just that Bracken was even past filthy rich.

"We've tracked Bracken's rise to power that happens to coincide with bad things happening to his competition through the years. … Having little girls run over by a supposed drunk driver that can't be found. A competitor who has racy photos of him with another naked woman who isn't his wife. A woman that no one can ask questions of since she is found dead not soon after the pictures come out." Kate supplies.

"And how does Jo fit into all this?" Jim really wanted to know. He didn't know his daughter was this close to solving it.

"We found that Bracken's first victory happened not long after your wife and her staff were all killed. He won and he used cash that he didn't previously have to do it." Rick tells him.

"So this Bracken killed Jo?" Jim was now wishing like Rick was, that he was infected or vaporized in that nuke, preferably the former since he was hoping that Bracken was still in there somewhere and that he was suffering, big time.

"Technically yes, just not personally. … It is highly unlikely that he would impersonate a drunk person and run down a little girl, crushing both her legs on purpose. That kind of driving takes skill that he likely doesn't have." Rick supplies.

"Or arrange to take pictures of his competitor who was with a naked woman that wasn't his wife and then kill her to prevent her from talking. He may have found the woman and paid her using cash to get herself into bed with no clothes on just long enough for pictures to be taken, only to have not done anything after that, except run. … To her death." Kate points out.

"So he had Jo killed. …. Because of what? Being a dirty senator. Hell they're all dirty and we vote for them anyway. So why Jo?" Jim didn't see it.

"You're forgetting one thing about today's politics. They are all dirty, yes. Just that we don't want to hear it so that it gives us the illusion of voting for someone who isn't worse than the other guy. We want the bad things he has done to remain hidden. Hide them away in his closet.

Your wife was likely gathering evidence that would expose what was in his closet, and once it was out it would be all over the news. News organizations would start their own investigations. The FBI would likely be forced to do one of their own. And the paparazzi would now follow him everywhere he went. Either up close and in his face or from far away. We would see him naked in his bathroom if they could get a picture of it. Think a topless Kate Middleton only worse.

His life would now come under a microscope. His days as a politician would be over. Never make President and likely forced to resign his senate seat, and if they found enough, spend the rest of his life behind bars." Rick offers.

"Or worse dad." Kate offers getting Jim to look at her perplexed at that comment. "We have all this information and we would be responsible for his fall from grace." Kate explains.

Rick and Kate remain silent to let Jim think about it. "Revenge." Martha offers, getting Rick and Kate to nod their heads.

Jim felt his heart fall into his stomach. Wasn't it bad enough that he had taken his wife from him, did he have to take his only daughter too?

"We're still working on that dad, it's not going to happen if we can prevent it." Kate assures him.

"So there is no one we can talk to, to end this?" Jim starts back at the beginning.

"No one I can think of. We've been trying to gain a rapport with Robert and Andy so that they would believe us when we told them, and allow them to build contacts that they could pass the information on to." Rick tells him, guessing that his calls to the CDC, WHO and local TC stations hadn't worked out.

"Dad, … What about Bob?" Alexis asks having forgotten all about him.

"Bob?" Kate questions, not having Rick say anything about a Bob before.

Rick suddenly sat up straight. "Robert Wheldon. … The mayor of New York City." Which got Rick to jump up and go inside in search of his cell/satellite phone, leaving the patio door open.


	16. Chapter 16

**CH16**

**It is now one month later: (October)**

Rick was actually surprised when Bob had answered his cell phone. They all found out that he and his family had retreated to the hospital that the 54th had taken over. Unfortunately Bob also had a lot of questions that Rick and Kate had difficulty with answering when it came to how they knew this would work.

In the end it had come down to. "Please, please Bob you need to trust me and find someone that can test this out and get it out to everyone else. I've tried the CDC and WHO but they don't appear to exist anymore, and if we want to save what we still have, you need to do this." Rick would have gotten down on his knees if it would have helped. Even if it did sound like he already was.

"Fine, I'll do what I can Richard, but you owe me and I want to hear about everything after this is over." Bob warned him.

"You think he'll do it?" Kate asks after they hang up.

"Oh he'll try. Bob may be a politician, but he's one of the ones that wouldn't have left us out here to die while he hides in a multi-million dollar tax payer paid facility. The only real question is does he have contacts with anyone still un-infected that can do anything about this?" Rick mentions.

"And how does he do that inside a hospital?" Kate adds.

"Well, … We've heard that from Espo that Montgomery is sending out large heavily armed patrols to help those people that he can't fit inside the precinct. It's likely that the 54th is or can do the same. If he can get back into one of the emergency command facilities or vans that New York has, he'll have a way to contact the outside world." Rick offers.

"OEM." Kate was nodding her head. "Emergency Operations Center. 65,000 square feet to handle city wide emergency situations. Hurricane Sandy, the blackout in 2003, the Transit strike in 2005, the blizzard of 2010, Hurricane Irene. Audio/visual communications, built-in giant emergency generators, the ability to contact pretty much anyone anywhere." Kate goes back to nodding her head.

"So why isn't he already there?" Martha asks.

"What happened, happened really fast Martha. It's likely that there is no one in that building. If looters could get into it, it might even been stripped clean and destroyed by now.

If our senators had thought of people besides themselves, it just might be manned right now and Bob and others would be there right now. But they didn't." Kate was now joining Rick in getting madder and madder at them, especially one of them in particular.

In any event what Bob could or couldn't do was out of their hands now. They would keep contacting Robert, Andy, Espo and the Midwest contacts when they became available and tell them about the invisibility shots, and pray.

It did leave a question in her mind though. How did the military know to blow all access to Manhattan?

Martha had informed them they she would be ready for her one woman play next week, she was still trying to memorize her lines and get her actions correct.

Martha had passed Kate on her way out to the docks where she was doing her practicing. It was far enough out there that she could be uninterrupted and not be overheard and spoil things for her audience.

"Thank you Katherine." Martha have half a second thought about kissing her cheek, but settled for a heartfelt hold of Kate's arm.

Martha left a shining smile on Kate's face after Martha was gone that lit up the room.

It turned out that Martha hadn't asked for any backdrop, she had decided that she didn't need it.

"I call this "PEARL OF WISDOM." Martha informs him on the day that she was ready.

Pearls of Wisdom

"Oh, my heck!" was all I could say when I first saw him. I'd never seen a man in quite this way before. I'd finally ripened... got my buds and flowered. Boys no longer caught my fancy; I was after a whole hunk of man now. I examined him with a horrific fascination that my mother had warned me about. The church too for that matter.

(Mimicking an old lady)

"Protect your pearls, girls," said Sister Sue as she handed us each a little baggy. The baggy held something like a clamshell. Inside each shell was a little pearl.

(Pretending to be another young girl)

"I wonder if it's real," Jennie Lynn asked wide eyed. I looked at my own pearl dipped in Elmer's glue.

(Speaking as her younger self)

"Not sure," I said as I studied it. "I think you bite it or something to tell. Saw this murder mystery on TV once. They'd made some kind of drug look like pearls. They crushed the pearl necklace with a tea cup and discovered it." Jennie Lynn just gave me a snot nosed upturned look.

(Pause. Reflects as her older self) The meaning of the pearl escaped me until now.

(Mimicking old lady again)

"Keep that pearl safe. Don't let the boys have your pearl until you're ready," Sister Sue warned. I'm sure she attached some additional meaning to it, like about marriage, but I couldn't quite remember that part. I'd forgotten most the lessons I'd learned in church. Jesus no longer man enough to keep my attention.

(Remembering. Looking longingly ahead)

It was a cowboy that first got my attention. As I stared at this man, I grew hot and anxious. I about threw him my pearl. "Take it, take it, take it!" I chanted in my head. He was nearly close enough to taste. His horse sweaty from a long ride, he stroked it gently. I watched, wishing to be stroked. Then he saw me, his eyes dancing, his half grin giving me shivers.

(Mimicking a Western guy)

"Well, if it ain't my little cousin Tyranny."

(Aside)

Mama had given me that name. Grannie said momma lay there all puzzled to high heaven about what she was gonna call me.

(Mimicking her mom)

"Get me a dictionary," she ordered and thumbed through Webster's 'til she found a word that sounded nice: Tyranny. She thought it was pretty sounding.

(Pause)

Now where was I? Oh, yeah, my cousin Skeeter.

(Becoming her younger self)

"Hi, Skeeter," I climbed up the side of a stall and straddled it. Skeeter sauntered up and swatted me on the backside.

(Smacks her own rear for effect, then talks like a Western guy)

"Turning out to be a fine filly, ain't ya?" I blushed, still felt his hand where it had smacked me. I liked it. I wanted him to do it again. Skeeter leaned in close, so close I could have kissed him. His breath like beer and garlic mixed. I could nearly taste it on my lips as I licked them. "You better hold on tight to your pearl or some guy's gonna snatch it away." He smacked my rear again and headed out. I grinned uncontrollably. Please, God, let Skeeter take my pearl.

(Back to older self)

But he never did, though I wish he had. At least my family might still love me then. Then I'd be the victim. This way, I am the bad one. Raped at thirteen by a cousin would have been far more noble in my family's eyes. Sure Skeeter would have been in for it, but at least I'd be okay. You might be thinking that I'm kind of strange thinking that way about my cousin but I know my history. People's been doing this sort of thing for years you know. Look at Egypt. All kinds of those guys married family. In my biology class they talked about royalty marrying family like crazy in England. Though I guess that was kind of bad cause they got this disease. What was it again? Cycle cell ameba? Round here they still think family is okay. Plenty of people find love with a second or third cousin. Sometimes closer. Guys joke that they go to family reunions to meet girls. Mostly they don't, sometimes they do. My cousin Brock has it bad. His parents are related somehow and that's why Brock has fingers for toes and thumbs for fingers. Funniest looking hands you ever saw. We always point at Brock and say, now that's what happens when cousins marry. This ain't nearly as bad as the Eggerstons, distant cousins from a little town in Idaho called Mud Lake. Not too many people there that's not related. Old papa Eggerston has been married a few times. He's proud that his current wife isn't a blood relative; she's just his step-daughter. But previous family encounters had given his family strange hands without fingernails. Bizarre looking worms of hands. I'm like you all and I decided to stay clear of family. I shouldn't have bothered though. I'm worse off now because of it.

(Pause. Goes to crib)

I'd met Buck at a party. I got drunk. Drunk on beer and garlic. I must have eaten ten pizzas that night. Must have had twenty beers. Buck raped me... excuse me... courted me. They don't have date rape in these parts. Here they call it courtship.

(Mimics mother)

Sure, momma was a bit annoyed with old Buck. "You don't sleep with sixteen year old girls. You're thirty-one for Christ's sake." Momma gave him two options, marriage or jail. He took the logical course for once in his life and then slipped away.

(Picks up baby from crib)

So here I am, married, with a kid, still with my momma. My husband is somewhere getting some other girl drunk, taking her pearl. One day he may come back. But if he does, God help his pearls, cause I'm gonna cut 'em off. Cut 'em off and mount them like a couple of fish. Hang 'em right next to my team roping trophies and label them "pearls of wisdom." They'll be a warning to any man who tries to take my girl's pearl.

(Strokes babies head)

I often sit here praying all men will die before my baby's old enough. My best hope for her is to be a lesbian. "Don't let them take your pearl, little Ennui." Then I sing to her, singing, hoping she'll remember...

(Sings)

"Hush little baby, don't say a word, Momma's gonna buy you a butcher knife. If that butcher knife won't cut, Momma's gonna hit'm with a pickup truck..."

Martha bowed at the end as Jim, Rick, Kate and Alexis all clapped.

"Where you listening Alexis?" Rick asked her with his eyebrows held high.

"So not funny dad, so not funny." Alexis answers back, getting Kate to snort to keep from laughing while smiling wide as she quickly slapped her hand over her mouth.

Martha told them she would be ready in another week. She had most of her lines already memorized since it was going to be a short one. All she needed was some time to make her one and only required prop.

"We look forward to it Martha, I'm sure it'll be great." Kate decided to head for the pool next, all she needed was a towel.

"That was great grams." Alexis hugs Martha. "How did you do the voices?" Each one was different.

"Those are trade secrets dear, trade secrets. If you want to learn you can come to my classes. I'm sure you would be great, you've got Rodgers blood in you." Martha hugs her back.

"That's Castle blood mother." Rick corrects her.

"You're a Rodgers dear, changing your name to Castle doesn't erase who you are. You're a Rodgers and will always be a Rodgers." Martha pats his cheek and goes outside.

"I didn't know actresses were so passionate. I always thought they were all so, … flighty." Jim points out.

"Oh don't ever say that around my mother, not if you want to keep your family jewels." Rick warns him and moves into the kitchen to start thinking about a late dinner.

Jim almost fell for moving his hands to his family jewels but caught himself while Alexis grins at him, know that her grandmother wouldn't do anything to his family jewels. However what she might do to the rest of him was another matter. Especially his ears, he might end up deaf for days after she finished with him.

Alexis decided to join Kate in the pool till her dad called that dinner was ready.

"Your grandmother is pretty good honey. Makes me wish I'd seen more of her earlier in life." Kate comments while floating around and taking Alexis's hand in hers after Alexis was on her mattress.

"Grams has worked a lot of places over the years. If you believe dad she took any job that came her way when dad was young. Always on the move from school to school. She was even on a daytime soap opera for a number of episodes before they killed her I think." Alexis mentions.

"You know which one?" Kate turned he head to look at Alexis.

"Something called Tump Lane I think. It's been a while." Alexis was sure she got it wrong, but thought she was close.

"You mean Temptation Lane?" Kate was really looking at Alexis now with her mouth hanging open.

"Yeah, that's the one. I don't remember the name of the character she played. I think grams prefers the stage with live acting. Not take after take after take. Plus she gets to hear the applause instead of the director yelling out CUT!" Alexis laughed at herself.

"When I was young my mother would curl up around me when I was sick and we would watch episodes of Temptation Lane when she stayed home from work with me. Now I can't wait to get home and look her up, see if I saw her in an episode and just don't remember." Kate wanted to see episodes of Temptation Lane now.

"Dad would create forts with a humidifier inside while we laid on the floor watching TV." Alexis explains.

Kate squeezed Alexis's hand. "I'm sorry honey, what Meredith and Gina did should never have happened. It only makes me wish we could go back in time a whole lot further so I could be your mother. I'd give a lot for you to be my daughter." Kate offered.

"But I am your daughter." Alexis points out.

Kate squeezes Alexis's hand again. "I know honey, I just mean from birth so I could take all that pain away." Kate tells her.

"Technically I think you would have been too young for dad at the time mom." Alexis knew there was an age difference, even if they hadn't talked about it much.

"Don't go ruining my dream with your logic honey, let me have my moment." Kate moans.

"Sorry mom." Alexis shut up and didn't say anything else till Rick called dinner.

It actually wasn't even a week later when Martha announced that she would be ready for her next play tomorrow between lunch and dinner. Perhaps another play followed by dinner?

This time Martha was dressed normally like always in a one-piece with a wrap and flip flops, something all the women were wearing save for Kate and Alexis being in a bikini.

And this time Martha had a prop of sorts. She was holding it in her hand and it had everyone straining to get a better look at it. Kate turned her head to Alexis who was sitting next to her on the sofa while Rick and Jim had two of the side chairs.

"Is that an egg wearing a, … police uniform?" Kate whispered, not really expecting an answer, however Kate could feel Alexis nodding her head.

Martha had Kate's undivided attention now. Dying to know what she needed an egg dressed up as a cop for. Maybe this one was a comedy?

"I call it Humpty Dumpty on patrol." Martha starts off with as she waves her hand across the front of her egg cop.

"It was a dark and stormy night in fairyland. A night just perfect for witches. With fairy godmother in the clink, I began to wonder if we were ready for a world turned topsy-turvy. Sweet witches and friendly wolves. Wise wizards and princesses with pig noses. It's a world gone mad but somehow things are looking sunny-side up and we may find some kind of happily ever after in fairytale land.

I was about to call it a day because I had this over easy feeling coming over me... when she rolled in. She had the figure of a fortress and the countenance of a cobra. She was the goddaughter; the witchiest woman west of Walla Walla.

I wondered if this was some kind of yolk. I had already cracked the case of the sleeping prince. Fairy godmother was left with egg on her face. The sleeping spell was only the Easter coloring on a much more rotten egg. She had bigger eggs to fry. And the corruption nearly broke fairytale land apart. Thankfully they had me to put it back together again.

I could continue walking on eggshells around her like everyone else or I could put all my eggs in one basket and say it straight. I knew she was trouble and I told her so. I told her she was like one of those riddles that scramble your brains like, "what came first, the chicken or the egg?"

I told her to beat it unless she wanted to have a talk with all the King's horses and all the King's men.

But then her eyes teared up and I was speechless because I'd never seen this cool egg crack before. Hey, I've got feelings. I'm a bit soft-boiled around the dames. And this dame needed help. And help is what I do, because I'm

Humpty Dumpty, Private Egg. Hard-boiled detective.

(Author is D. M. Larson) Freedrama dot net. That story is not to be used or printed without the permission of the author!

It had all of them laughing while Kate was all but rolling all over Alexis not being able to stay in one place. When Kate finally found herself able to sit up straight she started clapping.

"That was AMAZING Martha, simply amazing." Kate kept clapping along with the others.

Kate got up to hug Martha and thank her again before heading to the kitchen to start work on dinner. "I expect another one Martha." Kate calls over her shoulder.

Martha got hugs and thanks from Rick and Alexis too, while Jim simply thanked her for her skill.

They were sitting outside eating under the stars again. "You wouldn't believe the trouble I had putting that little uniform on an egg. I broke 4 of them and was about ready to give up and go looking for a ping pong ball or something, till it occurred to me to boil it.

A hard-boiled egg for a hard-boiled detective." Martha was smiling.

"Walla Walla?" It had Kate laughing again as she covered her mouth with her hand. "All the Kings horses and all the Kings men." Kate kept laughing. "That was just too good Martha. I don't know how you're going to top that one, but I'm sure you'll think of something." Kate worked at trying to stop laughing while watching Martha smiling wide.

"I still expect another one Martha." Kate points at Martha to emphasize her point.

Kate was wrapped up around Rick late that night in their bed after having made love to each other. "Your mother is talented Rick. We should have brought our parents out here prior to this. It is so much fun having a family around you. I'd forgotten what that was like for so long." Kate tells Rick as she doodles a finger over his bare chest.

"It's the same for me Kate. I'm used to having just my mother when I grew up. We moved around so much so she could find work. Sometimes I didn't even last a year in the same school.

I tried to not even make friends since I knew I would never see them again. It's just that I couldn't help it. I've got guys I still call friend that I haven't seen in years. I send them a Christmas card each year but that's it.

We lived in some real dives during some of the lean times. Drafty and cold, and even through all that there was one constant.

I knew my mother was working hard, and I got to see a lot of back stage areas in my time, but I always knew I was loved." Rick tells Kate a little more of his past.

Kate flips over so she is straddled above him with them both still naked. "And you're still loved, because I love you more than I've ever loved anyone and I don't know what I'd do without you." And Kate leaned down to kiss him and start round 2.


	17. Chapter 17

**CH17**

**It is now one month later: (November)**

It was the day before Thanksgiving and Rick pulled the frozen 25 pound turkey out of the freezer and set it in the sink to let water run over it to help thaw it out. "So that's why you brought a frozen turkey!" Kate had her hands on Rick's shoulders when he had his back to her. And kisses the back of his head.

Only to find Rick spin in place and really kiss her while one of his hands ran down her back until he cupped one of her cheeks in his palm getting a reaction from Kate, however she never left his lips.

Rick broke from the kiss and rested his forehead against hers by bending down. "I'm thankful that I met you at that coffee shop. My life wouldn't be anywhere near as full as it is with you in it." Rick tells her.

"I'm thankful that we were both in the same hotel. You saved my life in more ways than one. I wasn't really enjoying life till I met you. And I'm sorry it took me so long to come around." Kate answered back and lifted up to give Rick a quick kiss.

"And I suppose the frozen ham is for Christmas dinner?" Kate asks.

"Can't get anything past you can I?" Rick smiled down at her.

"That's why I'm the detective of this family." Kate smiled back.

"Speaking of family, this will end one time Kate, and when it does we're going to have that baby. And he or she is going to be perfect." Rick tells her.

Kate instantly buried herself into his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "I want that so badly baby, so damn badly." Kate started blinking back tears.

"It'll happen Kate, It'll happen." Rick kissed the top of her head. It had to happen, their life wasn't going to be this over and over again until time itself came to a stop. That would be hell and he didn't think any of them had done anything to warrant being sent to hell. "Maybe we'll even have a big family." Rick teased and started counting but never made it past the starting number 3.

"JUST HOW BIG ARE WE TALKING HERE?" Kate looked up at him.

"Oh I don't know, 4, 5 maybe 6." Rick waited for it.

Kate stepped back far enough to punch Rick in the chest. "SIX? I'm not a baby factory Mr. Castle." Six my ass. My big FAT ass!

Rick worked at pulling Kate back into him. "One or two will be fine and you know it." Rick finally got Kate pulled back into him even if her arms weren't wrapped around him anymore but curled up between the two of them against his chest.

"It better be, or I'll never lose the baby weight." Kate liked being slim and fit.

"Just more of you to love." Rick countered and kissed her head.

"More of me to divorce you mean." Kate teased since she would never divorce him. Meredith and Gina may not understand what they had, but she did and she was keeping him.

"We divorce over my dead body." Rick counters knowing divorce was never going to enter the picture.

"Don't even think that babe, not ever." Kate freed her arms and wrapped them around him and buried her head into his chest. She wasn't losing him or Alexis, ever!

"Help me with some of the side dishes? We can store them in the refrigerator until tomorrow and put them in the oven." Rick asks her.

"What about the turkey? It needs an oven too." Kate questions.

Rick started shaking his head. "I'm going to inject a Cajun mix into and place it in the grill and let it cook slowly." Rick explains.

"Oooo, sounds different. Have you done this before?" Kate asks still holding onto Rick.

"You ask Alexis that and find out for yourself. I'm the master of it." Rick stood up straight.

"Master huh?" Kate was sure there was a story in there somewhere.

Jim was outside helping Rick grill his turkey not sure this was such a good idea, still he did notice that the turkey was oozing juices that Rick kept injecting right back into it, so this turkey was definitely not going to dry out.

Still the entire process looked just a little dangerous to him. The ladies were inside getting all of the sides ready. They had fresh fruit picked only that morning, all the vegetables had to come from a can since the greenhouse had been used up. They did however have canned fruit also, like oranges.

It wasn't going to be a conventional Thanksgiving dinner that the Beckett's were used to however they did have a lot of food with fresh bread that the bread machine had only finished making an hour ago.

Jim and Kate's eyes opened wide at the first bite of the turkey. "This is amazing!" Jim was talking with his mouth full, knowing full well what his wife would say about that.

"This is really, really good babe." Kate filled her fork again and filled her mouth.

"You should have seen the first time dad cooked a turkey this way." Alexis offers.

"Alexis, you're not too old for me to ground you." Rick cautions.

"And I'll instantly un-ground you honey and ground Rick instead, so give." Alexis had her undivided attention now.

"We were out in the Hamptons and dad tried cooking the turkey on the grill while injecting it on the grill." Alexis starts with, and Jim recognized it since he had watched Rick do just that.

"Dad was injecting his solution when it went through the turkey or out the other side and hit the coals. … POOF!" Alexis raised her hands to demonstrate a flash of fire.

"It started dad's shirt on fire and blackened his face and burned his eyebrows off." Alexis was smiling while arching her eyebrows a few times.

It caused Kate to start laughing while Jim just chuckled.

"They grew back." Rick pouted.

"We spent Thanksgiving in the emergency room that year dad." Alexis countered since their Thanksgiving was ruined.

That only got Kate to laugh even harder, enough that she found it difficult to stay in her chair. Alexis was smiling and even Martha who was hearing it again was chuckling lightly, mostly because Kate's laughing was infectious.

Rick however only sat there pouting and plotting how to get back at his daughter.

Dinner was cleaned up and everything that was left over went into the refrigerator and Jim and Martha were presented with Castle's WHO AM I game.

ROUND #1

Getting on a plane, I told the ticket lady, "Send one of my bags to New York, send one to Los Angeles, and send one to Miami." She said, "We can't do that!" I told her, "You did it last week!"

I was just in London - there is a 6 hour time difference. I'm still confused. When I go to dinner, I feel sexy. When I go to bed, I feel hungry.

The food on the plane was fit for a king. "Here, King!"

A doctor gave a man six months to live. The man couldn't pay his bill, so he gave him another six months.

My doctor grabbed me by the wallet and said, "Cough!"

The doctor says to the patient, "Take your clothes off and stick your tongue out the window". "What will that do?" asks the patient. The doctor says, "I'm mad at my neighbor!"

A doctor has a stethoscope up to a man's chest. The man asks, "Doc, how do I stand?" The doctor says, "That's what puzzles me!"

The other day I broke 70. That's a lot of clubs.

Hollywood called me, asking me, "How much to do a movie with Farrah Fawcett?" "$50,000" They called back, "How about $20,000?" I said, "I'll pay it!"

I'm now making a Jewish porno film. 10% Sex, 90% guilt.

ROUND #2

Last time I got a standing ovation was in England when I played with the London Philharmonic. I played the Wieniawski Concerto, and when I finished, the whole audience stood up - and walked out!

My wife Mary and I have been married for forty-seven years and not once have we had an argument serious enough to consider divorce; murder, yes, but divorce, never.

Give me golf clubs, fresh air and a beautiful partner, and you can keep the clubs and the fresh air.

The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me except that I have a slight stomach pain. Wait till I get my hospital bill! Then I'll really have a pain the stomach!

The only way I'll ever get hurt in the casino is if there's an earthquake and a slot machine falls on my foot.

I don't want to tell you how much insurance I carry with the Prudential, but all I can say is: when I go, they go too.

I went to a meeting for premature ejaculators. I left early.

ROUND #3

As far as gambling, just ask any of the dealers in the Las Vegas casinos and they'll tell you that woman can't play blackjack. They can't add up the cards fast enough.

I still feel 30, except when I try to run.

Jack Benny was, without a doubt, the bravest comedian I have ever seen work. He wasn't afraid of silence. He would take as long as it took to tell the story.

The giant superstars are people whose talent is so enormous that their death wish can't destroy it.

I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jim had guessed number two correctly but had no idea who the other two were while Martha didn't even try and just enjoyed the moment. Still Jim and the others all laughed at the joke.

"You've been doing this each time?" Jim asks.

"Not always, only occasionally. I'm not sure even Rick knows that many jokes." Kate answers.

"Oh ye of little faith my dear Kate. Have you learned nothing in your time here?" Rick was grinning.

"My mistake, I forgot you are the Jedi Master of jokes." Kate teases since her tone of voice said otherwise. Getting Rick to try and glare back out her, however Kate is immune to that look.

Kate was curled up that night in Rick's arms, right where she wanted to be. "You are good at it babe." Kate was doodling on Rick's chest yet again with her finger. Kate had noticed that they all were beginning to get pretty good tans by now again too.

"I have a confession to make." Rick tells Kate and listens to her silence. "I have them all on my laptop and I've been spending time while typing my books out, I was also memorizing them all." Rick got ready for Kate's yelling.

Except she just laid there and said nothing. "Kate? …. Kate?" It was now that Rick noticed Kate had stopped doodling on his chest. He was spared, Kate had fallen asleep in his arms.

Kate woke in the morning to an empty bed. It wasn't the first time and likely not the last, however she also knew that he wasn't far. Stretching out to get her muscles moving she turned to see the time. 7:43 am. She had slept in! How did that happen?

Kate was showered, dressed with just a touch of make-up since herself and Alexis had given most of it to Martha since Alexis hadn't packed that much for her. If one could call wearing a bikini with a wrap and flip flops being dressed.

Stepping out into the main room Kate found Rick in the kitchen almost done fixing breakfast. Pancakes, amazingly, bacon, toast, eggs, juice and coffee. The coffee was first as Kate breathed it in first before starting to sip it. "You've been busy." Kate comments, impressed.

"I had a good feeling about today is all." Rick shrugged his shoulders and turned his head to give Kate a quick kiss.

"I missed you this morning." Kate states.

"Sorry about that, but I just couldn't get back to sleep." Rick gave Kate another quick kiss as an apology.

"No problem, I had fun in the shower without you." Kate teases and walked out of the kitchen.

"Ooooohhh, don't say that Kate." Rick moans, as he crosses his legs a little.

"Is that bacon I smell?" Alexis enters.

"It is, we just need to wait for Jim and my mother." Rick calls out still staring daggers at Kate for teasing him.

Kate had Alexis's cell/satellite phone and called the satellite phone she left behind. "Hi Espo, just calling in this morning for our weekly call-in." Kate tells him since she recognized his voice.

"We were just thinking of calling you Beckett. …. YOU CAN COME HOME!" Ryan yells into the phone from somewhere likely behind Espo.

That got Kate, Rick and Alexis's mouths to drop open.

"Not just yet but we just got word that Mayor Wheldon was informed by someone after he got the 54th to take him to the Emergency Operations Center and went back to the hospital with the food that was stored there along with some of the communications equipment.

It's not a cure, but they are calling it invisibility. Supposedly the infected ignore you if you are already infected with something. So they are starting to make something that will infect us all, just something that can be cured.

They say give them a month or more and they'll have millions made and start distribution." Espo tells them.

Kate looked at Rick. This was what they had heard all of the other times too. "They're early." Kate whispers.

"Guess that call to Bob got results." Rick shrugs his shoulders.

"Do they have any kind of time table?" Kate asks him.

"They are working on passing on what to do to other countries as best they can. For the US it sounded like they were going to give it to places west of here first. We're guessing that they want the farms back up and working first. Along with power stations and other infrastructure locations." Espo explains most of what they were told.

"After the first month they'll move on to other places like Hawaii and other islands. Likely you will have to come to us." Espo explains.

"We can do that. We'll still call back weekly to see how things are progressing. Probably too soon to find out where we will be staying after we get there." Kate points out.

"It's going to be a whole new world Beckett. We know they are going to start killing off the infected as quickly and easily as they can. People who used to own this or that are likely going to be gone.

They may have an answer for the infection, but we have a whole new set of problems." Espo agrees.

"We'll think of something Espo, just find out what you can and let us know when we call." Kate tells him.

"See you soon Beckett." And Espo hangs up.

"They're not going to try and find a cure?" Martha asks.

"Maybe we can find out why on the next few calls. Maybe there is a medical reason. We don't even know what the infection does to you. After you are infected you may no longer exist. What you know and who you were may be gone.

Even if they kill the infection, what of you is left?" Kate speculates.

"We wait and find out. … Where do we go when we can? I presume we fly?" Jim asks.

"We have the range to go almost anywhere we want. Deep into the Midwest, northern Canada, back to New York or the airport we flew out of." Alexis offers.

"Sounds like we have a month." Kate tells them.

"Do I go pig hunting this morning like planned?" Rick asks.

"I think so. The previous times it took just over a month and we took as much food as we could with us." Kate reminds him.

"Not that that did us much good. Since we repeated the previous nine months over again before we landed." Rick points out.

"Except we never left this early before." Kate counters. "We still need at least a months' worth of food."

"Sounds like I go pig hunting. … You and your dad can go fishing." Rick brightens up.

That had Kate smiling. "Ready to go fishing dad?" Kate turned and smiled wide at her dad.

"I'll go get my spare pair of shorts." Jim dead panned, getting Rick and Alexis to start laughing, while Kate looked hurt.

Jim didn't bring his shorts, still he was sitting there, well bouncing in his seat, would be more accurate as Kate took the Flash up near 70 to get to the fishing grounds.

By the time they were back Martha was helping Alexis use the vacuum sealer system for the pig parts that Rick had brought in.

Lunch was the last of the BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with their next to last case of chips along with some fruit.

"What do we eat when we get back?" Jim wonders while they are eating.

"Likely what they can fix for us at the precinct for a while till more food can come in. Life is going to be different dad, probably very different." Kate responds not yet convinced that this event was going to re-set and repeat it all over again. After all it was all they knew.

Kate was working at adjusting her position while in Rick's arms that night. "Any guesses babe?" Kate wanted to hear something.

"Wish I knew. I always thought it would just happen. Instead of resetting we would get to land and get a shot." Rick offers.

"Not a real fan of getting a shot." Kate whispers out.

"Bad ass Kate Beckett is afraid of an itsy bitsy little needle." Rick teases. And it earns him a swat to his chest.

We'll get out of this Kate, this time, next time. But we will. … We have to. I'm not sure how much longer I can take this." Rick thought he was about to break.

"Don't crack on me now babe. I would have cracked a long time ago without you and Alexis.

I promise babe, when this is over I'm not leaving or forgetting you. I can't afford to." Kate had just as big a crack as Rick did. This had to end.


	18. Chapter 18

**CH18**

**It is now one month later: (December)**

Henny Youngman

Jack Benny

Bob Newhart

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Kate and Alexis were floating in the pool again, this time barely holding on by a finger with each other. "Have you done any thinking about college all these times?" Kate asks, hoping that this would be the last time.

"A little, Oxford isn't actually in London. It's a number of miles to the northwest roughly. There is transportation between the two but it would take time." Alexis informs Kate.

"O-kay, but a place that big must have places you can stay. Maybe you could take trips into London between class days, find something to do, find a nice British boyfriend, one with an accent." Kate started smiling.

"There was this guide that I downloaded and put it only laptop, it's called The Living Out Guide. It offers pros and cons of living on college if you qualify or living in a house off college.

Off college offered mostly three major locations. City Centre, Jericho and Cowley Road. Cowley Road seemed to be the most popular with better pricing and more available places. Jericho usually has fewer housing choices with higher prices, however you get what you pay for.

One of the drawbacks of living out is transportation to the college. Living out means eating out, so you need to know how to cook." Alexis points out.

"Good thing your dad taught you how to cook than." Kate points out.

"Cowley Road has the most number of grocery locations, restaurants, night life and such, however it's also the furthest out." Alexis points out.

"Pray you don't have a 7:30 class on the far side of the campus than." Kate points out, remembering she had just such a class with her next class on the opposite side with no time to get there. "Alexis honey, please tell me you know about the dangers of drugs and alcohol?" Kate asks, suddenly thinking like a mom, even if she doesn't recognize it.

"I know, trust me I know." Alexis really did know.

"And do you know the peer pressure or desire to fit in that goes with it? … You've found a guy and you like him and he offers you something. You like him and would like to see more of him, and you're all alone living in England, with the two of us hours away at best." Kate offers a scenario.

"I've thought about it mom, I have. It's just, … how does anyone know how they will react when that time comes?" Alexis offers.

"You'll know what to do because you are sure of yourself. Secure in who and what you are, and you don't need him to feel good about yourself. You don't need his approval, and if he really did love you, he would protect you, not offer you drugs or alcohol.

Items aren't love honey. … You loved the loft, but if it burnt down, you would find another one. Which is more important? Monkey Bunkey or your dad, or me even. There are just some things that are irreplaceable. Will you miss Monkey Bunkey? Yes, but will it kill you to lose him like it would kill you to lose your father?" Kate knew it wasn't a perfect example, but it was something.

"Trying to fit in, isn't standing out. It's losing yourself to, it's giving up who and what you believe in just to gain someone's favor, be a part of the crowd.

Just pick the right crowd honey, or make your own and offer those that share your views into it. You don't smoke, so don't hang around with people who do. You don't drink, so don't hang around people who do.

Being called chicken is a lot better than being called dead, or having someone call your father or me to tell us to come get you and take you home. The right friends can help you honey, help you study, help socialize safely, give you advice, offer support when you need it, or you them." Kate offers.

"God I sound like my mom." Kate squeezed her eyes closed.

"And what did you do with all of that advice?" Alexis asks, since there were still things she didn't know about Kate.

Kate huffed out a laugh. "Pretty much the exact opposite. I had wild teenager phase that I'm not too proud of anymore. I did a lot of stupid stuff." Kate moaned.

"Like drugs?" Alexis asks.

"How about we not talk about my stupidity anymore." Kate started praying.

"I'll take that as a yes. …. I'll just ask your dad if I want to know more." Alexis teased.

"OH GOD! … Suddenly bringing my dad is turning out to be a really bad idea." Kate didn't mean it, not really. Just at the moment she did. Getting Alexis to giggle.

"I've never been this far from home. I've always had dad near. Friends that he knew and approved of." Alexis admits.

"And you will get homesick, you just will. Everyone does. And if you have selected the right friends they will be there for you. Not offer you cocaine to take the pain away, or a smoke to make you feel mellow. … Just make sure you don't hear "I'm your friend, don't you trust me?" as they offer you drugs or a drink to make things better." Kate offers again.

"Like your dad or your teenage years?" Alexis knows her dad fell into that trap.

"I'm afraid my dad and I are not good examples of what to do. My dad went his route and I hid my heart behind my walls and buried myself in my work. We were both existing but not living.

Being out here with my dad, and everyone has shown both of us what we were missing out on." Kate had a family and never really knew what she was missing out on with her choices.

"Lunch ladies?" Rick calls from the door and closes it again.

"What's in the sink Castle?" Kate asks straining to look into the sink on the far side.

"That is the still frozen ham for Christmas dinner tonight. We need to start working on the side dishes a little after lunch." Rick advises.

"Castle you do know we have pigs on the island and have ham practically every other day." Kate points out.

"Yes but this is a Honey Baked Ham and it cost me $70. … And I didn't have to chase the thing down, shoot it, gut it, slice it up, all outside in the heat." Rick points out.

Kate didn't get it, ham was ham. Why couldn't Rick have gotten a second turkey, something different for a change, like Thanksgiving.

Kate thought she was right as she took her first bite, ham was ham. Besides their ham could have been a FRESH ham, not frozen.

It was only later when Rick slapped his head. "We still didn't bring any Christmas decorations." Rick hung his head low.

Martha did have to admit that the island was a little void of decorations, since she was used to her son going way overboard with literally everything.

Rick had talked everyone into watching the movie Miracle on 34th Street. The original black and white version. The others were just copies.

"Wait right here." Rick pats Kate's hand as he gets up and runs for their bedroom.

"You know what he's up to?" Kate asks looking at Alexis, only to watch her shake her head.

Mistletoe? A Christmas movie that they don't have? They didn't have space for a tree and he had already complained about not bringing any decorations.

"I hid this away in my bag when we flew out here." Rick sits back down next to Kate and hands her a wrapped in Christmas paper small rectangular box. "Merry Christmas." And Rick kisses Kate's cheek.

"Rick?" My god what had he done?

"Go ahead open it." Rick knew they usually opened on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought them, except Rick knew Santa didn't bring Kate this.

Kate slowly removed the wrapping paper with her heart in her throat. Just what was in this?

Kate saw the outer box and didn't recognize the name, but it still had jewelry store written all over it.

Kate cracked it open with everyone straining to take a look as she did. Kate sucked in her breath and stared at what was inside. "It's gorgeous Rick." Kate worked at blinking back the tears.

Kate lifted it out for all to see while leaving the box in her lap. "It's gorgeous darling. … Try it on, let's see what it looks like on you." Martha offers.

Kate handed it over to Rick and turned her back to him and pulled her hair to one side, allowing Rick to place it around her neck.

Kate got compliments from everyone and Kate thanked Rick by kissing him as passionately and filled with love as she could.

14KT Yellow 4 Prong 3ctw Princess Cut Diamond Solitaire Pendant on 18 Cable Chain through V shaped bail 3 CTW.

"I'm glad you like it, and if we're lucky you'll get to keep it so I don't have to go out and buy it all over again." Rick tells her.

"Thank you!" Kate wiped the tears away and kissed Rick again.

Kate also felt guilty. She hadn't gotten Rick a wedding ring, even if she had been thinking about if he was ever going to ask her. However she put his not asking up to the situation they were in. Why be engaged if you were not going to get married?

Now she had a ring and a Christmas present and she had gotten him nothing. Kate knew she would fix that either on the next trip or when this ended. He was hers and she wanted that ring on his finger to show all those women out there that he belonged to her.

It took some pleading from Rick and encouragement from Alexis along with Kate's guilt to get Kate to sing 'Silent Night' for them.

It earned Kate a kiss from Rick. "I am so remembering to bring a guitar next time." Rick teased, since he thought Kate had a lovely voice.

"And if you do I'm going to give you my interpretation of 'El Kabong'." Kate counters.

"Ooooo, way to show your Geek, Kate. What was the name of his tag along buddy?" Rick challenges her.

"Oh please, give me a hard one. … Baba Looey." Kate answers.

"Challenge accepted Kate." Rick was up to the challenge he hoped.

"What do I get if I win?" Kate responds. That got Rick to think about it and lean in and whisper into Kate's ear.

That got Kate's eyes to open wide. "You have them?" Kate asks and watches Rick nod his head. "And you waited till now to mention it?" Kate was going to shoot him, and that's if she let him out of them.

"And when I win?" Rick asks.

"You mean IF you win." Kate counters and thinks about it and leans in to whisper it to Rick.

It got Rick to grin wide. "Deal." Rick offers his hand and Kate takes it to seal the deal.

"Who goes first?" Rick asks.

"Roshambo?" Kate offers.

"Ooooo, impressive." Rick responds and holds his hands out, getting Kate to do the same.

Two rocks turned out to be first, followed by two papers, followed by Rick with a rock and Kate with paper. "Paper covers Rock. … I go first." Kate was smiling. NOW, how to trip up Rick on the first question?

"What is the name of the little boy who can't stop daydreaming? Instead of paying attention in class, he imagines he can fly, fights his math problems on the chalkboard, flees from attacking Indians, deep sea dives, wins a boxing match, and turns into Douglas MacArthur." Kate asks him.

Rick curses silently, he had underestimated Kate, she really was geeky at this. Rick had the episode in his head and just had to play it out to get the name.

"Ralph Phillips. His teacher was always on his case." Rick answers. "My turn." After watching Kate curse.

"What was the name of a little African boy with a loin cloth and a bone in his hair. He never speaks and most of his cartoon appearances featuring him hunting some sort of illusive prey." Rick started grinning wide.

Now it was Kate who was silently cursing. Kate now had a fear that she just might lose this bet. Kate started thinking back till she found what he was doing in her memory. Now she just needed a name.

"Inki!" Kate saw Rick's face fall so she knew she had gotten it right, and danced while seated next to Rick on the sofa.

"Katie watched a lot of cartoons when she was little, with her nose just inches away from the TV tube." Jim points out, rooting Katie on, with no knowledge of what she was going to win, just that he wanted her to win.

"And my dad has been a child all his life." Alexis counters, sticking her tongue out at Jim.

It was Kate's turn. "What was the name of Elmer Fudd's wife?" Kate ached her eyebrows. She had him this time.

"Elmer Fudd was married?" As soon as those words escaped his mouth, Rick knew he was in trouble. Only to watch Kate smile back.

Shit, shit, shit! Elmer Fudd's wife? Elmer Fudd was a hunter of wabbits, and an occasional wacky duck. He actually took Daffy Duck home one time before shooting him, so of course he was married.

Elmer Fudd's wife? Rick decided to risk it, even if he had no idea. Besides even if he lost, he won. "Mrs. Elmer Fudd." Rick tried to sound convincing, however he failed big time.

However by the look on Kate's face, he had gotten it right. "Who told him?" Kate looked around. "No cheating you three." Kate pointed at her dad, Martha and Alexis.

"My turn." Rick smiled wide, getting Kate to groan. "What is the full name of Wile E. Coyote in the cartoons with Sam the sheep dog?" Rick tries coming at Kate sideways.

Kate started to try and picture the cartoons that those two were in. They were going into work, they even punched their time cards when they started and quit work. The coyote was after sheep instead of a road runner and loved ACME products in his quest to get a sheep.

Sam was big and slow and nearly blind, or so the coyote thought. He had even used ACME hair growth to make sure his eyes were covered one time. 'Morning Sam, …. Morning, …' "Ralph!" Kate answers his question, knowing that she is right.

"Eeerr, wrong." Rick was smiling.

"Wrong my ass, his name is Ralph, Castle." Kate knew she was right.

"His FULL NAME is Ralph E. Wolf, Kate. … You lose. I expect you to pay up tonight." Rick arched his eyebrows a couple of times.

Kate could feel her mouth opening and closing over and over. She was right and still lost, how was that possible? Still she may have lost the bet, but she was still going to enjoy tonight so very much, it even had her starting to get wet just thinking about tonight.

It had Kate praying the walls were sound proof, knowing what was coming, Kate had serious doubts that she could remain silent for long.

"And thank you for the Christmas present, it really is beautiful." Kate leaned across to kiss him again.

"I'm glad you like it." Rick kissed Kate back.

"Where are they?" Kate asks after closing the bedroom door a few hours later.

Rick fished them out of the drawer he had hidden them in and started thinking of how to use them.

Rick tossed them on the bed and started the slow process of removing Kate's wrap and bikini, kissing various sections of Kate's exposed skin. By the bikini was gone Rick could feel Kate trembling with anticipation.

Rick helped Kate into bed and took his time using the handcuffs to secure Kate to the bed, before he started slowly removing his swim trunks, exposing to Kate that he was already more than ready, as was Kate since she could feel just how wet she was.

Each time Kate started to scream from one of the now countless orgasm's she had ever had, Rick would cover her mouth with his, allowing her screams to be muffled as Kate screamed into Rick's mouth.

Kate was sure she couldn't have another orgasm and was actually tugging hard on the handcuffs as Rick used his mouth yet again. This time Rick wasn't quite fast enough to silence her scream, so a piece of it got out, before she could taste herself on his lips.

It had Kate whimpering at the taste of them as she felt his fingers replace where his talented tongue had been just moments ago. "RICK, PLEASE?" Kate wanted to be released so she could touch him. "PLEASE BABY, I want to touch you." Kate yanked on her cuffs to emphasize the point.

The second Rick finally released Kate from both handcuffs, Kate turned him on his back and mounted him and proceeded to enjoy herself, and just as she started to get too loud Kate bent down and kissed Rick, while screaming out her final orgasm of the night.

Kate was lying on top of Rick while they both worked at getting their breathing under control. "We are so repeating this again." Rick points out, getting a completely sated Kate to just hum back in response.

"We didn't use any protection Kate." Rick points out the only flaw in the night.

"I don't care, we're flying home soon and if this doesn't get me pregnant, than I will be shortly, because I want that baby Rick. I want our baby, the one we lost the first time. I want him." Kate tells Rick while doodling a finger on Rick's chest.

"This will be the last time Kate, it has to be. … It just has to be." Kate bent his head down and kissed Kate's head.

It wasn't until just before New Year's that their call into Espo told them they could all fly home. They were to land in LaGuardia and they would be met on the tarmac at the end of the runway. The military had cleared the airport mostly.

They would be given shots while still on the plane and then couldn't get off the plane until they were sure that the infection had taken hold so that the infected could detect it. Then they would be transferred into a helicopter and taken into Manhattan and dropped off at the hospital where the 54th had taken over.

At this point Ryan and Espo and a few friends would meet them and escort them to one of the hotels in town that the 12th had control over for them to stay in. The food they brought with them would be transferred to the kitchen in the hotel.

After that things would be worked out for all of them depending on what they found. It wasn't going to be easy, the planet had lost a lot of people. For likely a long time Marshal Law would remain in effect for the foreseeable future.

They loaded up all of their hand weapons along with the two Tommy Guns with all of the ammunition for them. The coolers were filled up, all of the cases of food that they thought they could take were also loaded.

Jim and Martha watched the three of them shut down the house and close it up pulling down the hurricane shutters and locking them in place.

Alexis was flying the plane when she pointed to the F/A-18E that was suddenly flying next to them. "He wants to know where we are going and if we have people and shots waiting for us." Alexis tells Kate.

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And so ends book 2 of our trilogy. The first chapter of book 3 should be out in just about a week. I want to make sure that I'm far enough out in front that i can keep updating daily like i prefer to.

It will have it's own name like any trilogy would, so keep your eyes open for it.

Happy reading!


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